WOMEN IN FRANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21920, 4 April 1933, Page 12

WOMEN IN FRANCE

The recent action for a divorce in France wherein a wife gave as a reason her husband’s habit of snoring and his refusal either to have the cause of the snoring removed or to allow her to occupy a separate room is in curious contrast with the hardships endured by wives seeking divorce on more strenuous grounds. While snoring on the grand scale may easily drive one mad, there is in it no suggestion of a rival, no question of malice aforethought. It is even probable that the snorer does not really believe the accusations of being a public nuisance brought against him by his wife. Continual ill-treatment in the home, however, of which a defendant may be entirely conscious, is a much more difficult accusation to bring with any chance ot success, as is also the riotous spending of money, and in particular of money brought or earned by the wife. A Frenchman may easily take possession of his wife’s money and so make it almost impossible for her to bring any action against him. Not long ago an English firm who paid a French woman in Paris for her services to them were much surprised to receive a letter from the husband summoning them to make over the wife’s money direct to him. Needless to say, they did not comply with his request; but in France he would have been within his rights. Should he choose to live with a woman not his wile ho may, in default of a special agreement, use his wife’s earnings with which to support her rival with perfect impunity, it is true that she may divorce him m theory, but without mouey the ostensibly easy divorce in France is by no means all that it seems. Equally trivial causes can be brought forward with every prospect of success.