Complex Numbers

Les Lois Bizarres

I figured it'd be important to read this Cracked article, because I'd like to avoid running afoul of the gendarmerie when I go there.

    5 Normal Family Activities That Are Illegal in France  
Want to take a paternity test? Nope. Straight to jail

France’s official motto is “Liberté, égalité, fraternité.” They’re a little iffy on the liberté part of that, at least by the standards of places who really care about freedom.

Um, have you seen the US?

For example, France bans public school students from wearing religious symbols.

From what I've heard, there were good reasons for the ban.

In the U.S., it would be unthinkable to have any national law on what schoolkids can wear.

Um, not the same thing. France is comparable in size to one of our larger states. Smaller than Texas but bigger than California. Texas and California have state guidelines for schools. That particular ban isn't in place there, but we have other quirks.

But several strange French laws concern families and kids...

I'm absolutely certain that other countries find some of our laws just as strange.

5. Paternity Tests

In France, a court may order a paternity test as part of a legal proceeding, but short of that, they forbid citizens from testing paternity.

Not my problem and, again, we have weirder laws.

4. Naming Your Kid What You Like

In France, courts can rule that parents named their child wrong and order the name changed. In 2015, for example, a court learned that parents were naming a child “Nutella,” and the court renamed the girl “Ella,” to spare her from derision.

Yeah, no, I'm gonna side with France, here.

3. Changing Your Surname

In France, however, there is no simple process for changing your last name. You can petition a court to change your name, if your motive matches one of the few acceptable ones, but you can’t just fill a form and change your name because you feel like it.

This just in: different countries have different laws and customs. Who'd have thought?

2. Disinheriting Your Children

In most places, if you die without a will, your money goes to your next of kin, but you can instead write a will leaving your money wherever you like. Not in France, where you must leave money to your children, no exceptions.

Eh, I don't see this as much different from estate taxes. Either way, there's a law concerning the disposition of a portion of your estate; the only difference is who that has to go to.

But I can see this becoming especially enraging for some men if they spent the kids' entire lives not knowing if they were genetically related, as per #5 above.

1. Swimming Trunks

You may have heard tales of French nude beaches, where every part of your body can go proudly on display. From these, you might think France is a lot more free than other countries when it comes to what you can wear when swimming.

It's not just France. I think the US is one of the outliers here, also known as "the strange one."

When you go to a French pool, you are not allowed to wear swimming trunks. You instead must wear swimming briefs, or what we’d call a Speedo, giving everyone a proper look at the contours of your bulge.

I started adding "Speedos" to the shopping list for my upcoming trip, then crossed it out and wrote NO SWIMMING. You're welcome.

On the other hand, if you want to show off much more of yourself and wear a thong, nope, pools ban that as well.

In summary, lots of rules that make sense in one culture seem strange to others. Part of the reason to travel is to experience these differences. But it's a good thing to have fair warning beforehand, so you don't, say, bring chewing gum to Singapore and end up getting caned.