Something "lost in translation" some where I think, Carol. I don't know any Brit/anglophone couples here, so can only comment on my couple, other family and friends who aren't married and there's never a problem. Especially as France caters for it with the PACs too - near on married status but no name change and everything's 100% official ...!
well.....seems several people have had different experiences to you Andrew....certainly of the 5 unmarried Brit couples who both use their own names...who have never pretended to be anything other than unmarried....they are regularly addressed by partners name...appears Brian's partner also had this experience.
Is going grey within five years allowed, sine that would presumably be the lifetime of an ID card?
my OH has never been written to in my name, Brian...!
Just answered, Carol, but just to say that they've missed something - it's perferctly normal and acceptable to be "living in sin" in France, have kids out of wedlock. You just need to know how the system works - declaring that you're the father of your OH's unborn child before the birth so that you're acknowledged as the father once the baby's born etc. We have bought several properties, as have unmarried friends, we have a business etc and at no point has not being married and keeping maiden names been a problem - the system is set up for it and France is as open as the UK in that respect ;-)
wrong Carol, unmarried women use their own surname - as with my OH and one of her sisters. Our kids have both names so Mouysset-Hearne, but their two of their cousins were born before you could choose so only have the father's name and for tax reasons their mother doesn't declare them but their Dad does, as that particular sister-in-law says, it's a bit weird but that's the system. She's still a Mouysset for everything and her kids and OH are Fraysse...!
Our daughters are both, so a good Italian-Scots double barrel, yet would you believe anybody has the imagination (or lack of) to use that for we parents? Nah, no way.
I chose to take my husbands name...think its fine if its a choice thing.....I have several friends whose daughters have either chosen to double barrel with their husbands name or chosen to keep their maiden name. Each to his own I guess....I just am not a fan of the French method of insisting on calling unmarried women by their partners surname!
You would love Belgium, Carol. Women there keep their maiden name for ever. It can be very confusing until you get used to the system. I recall my French mother-in-law asking at a doctor's surgery in Brussels who was this woman they kept asking for and the shock on her face when my wife said it was her they wanted. She hadn't been called by her maiden name for the best part of 50 years!
You just perfectly demonstrated my point Brian! we have many unmarried British friends in France, most are second or third relationships...and the couples decided not to marry...its a huge problem in terms of property as both parties in most instances, have children from one or two marriages...at least one couple have formed a company which 'owns' their house. All of the women in these relationships are addressed by their partners name...as in Mr and Mrs.....never in their rightful names....I do wonder why......could it be that France...a country that is hardly small minded...cant actually accept unmarried couples living openly?
I think you just explained why Jane....he worked in the USA! One of the doctors at our practice worked in Bristol for a year and his manner is totally different to the other GPs in the group.
My wife has never taken/used my name. Because she is a big chunk younger than me this house and her share of the bills are in her name. Do you think anybody ever writes to her in that name? Doh!
or Nick....your wife's shoe size and your inside leg? Actually my rule would be that in France, women would become equal to men and not seen as their husbands property, that would be an eye opener!
What about the wife's maiden name ? Every time we fill in a document it seems that we have to put in my wife's maiden name - what's all that about ? I think this should be changed to her shoe size on all documents.
I was astonished when I went to see a surgeon the other day to confirm my GP’s diagnosis of Dupuytrens syndrome. I told him that I am massaging nodule in my left hand using Reiki and he said that just the right thing to do. The nodule gets softer when I reiki it and it is starting to get smaller.
Our GP speaks excellent English and has worked in the USA and understands that our health is a joint affair and always makes sure that we see a specialist who is pleasant and not dictatorial.
You forgot, supplementary salaries and overtime for all functionaries working on all forms of supplements and overtime for functionaries.
Interestingly....we are buying a house in the UK....just so Nick, my husband can change his domicile from France to the UK...because he cant cope with the overbearing attitude of the French medics he has seen....as you know...my husband was a GP in the UK...and is used to having discussions about his treatment with his English GP...when he is considered, as should all patients, as integral to the decision making. I know the health service in France is supposed to be excellent...but smacks of paternalism and they dont brooke disagreement!
Can I correct you Carol, I think you mean 1590s
There is an interesting attitude amongst medics in France...where you do as they say and not question....not very 2013...bit more 1950s!
At one of my recent medical consultations I gave the physician seeing me my business card so that he could copy my name and address. It has my Dr title on it. He was horrified (possibly scared) and asked me what branch of medicine I am in. I told him that I am not a medical doctor but a real doctor; philosophiæ doctor. He told me that was nonsense since doctor means 'médecin'.
I angrily explained that doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre 'to teach'. It therefore means teacher. It has been used as an academic title for well over a millennium in Europe where it dates back to the rise of the first universities such as Bologna, Oxford and Paris. He said that the French medical uniquely has another origin that is not Latin, to which I commented that obviously all other medical doctors in just about every country I have ever been in have the same obscure French origin, which he said is clearly the case. However he could not explain what the title originates from directly.
So, somebody who does not know what the meaning of their professional title is does not score many points on the trust front with me. Especially if they feel it entitles them to rubbish the titles of those who do know what it originates from!