France abolished the legal terms "legitimate" and "illegitimate" for children on Monday with a decree saying the distinction dating back to the Napoleonic Code of 1804 made no sense anymore. Abolishing the terms brings France's civil code in line with laws passed in recent years banning discrimination - especially for inheritance - between children born in or outside of a marriage, a Justice Ministry communique said.
About 46 percent of French babies are now born out of wedlock, compared to about 10 percent in the 1970s, and almost 90 percent of them are claimed by both parents.
"The decree abandons the notions of 'legitimate' and 'natural' descent, which have lost all legal and practical significance since legislation has created full equality among children regardless of their descent," the communique said.
The decree will take effect in July 2006, it added.
The other rules for paternity will remain unchanged - a married man is assumed to be the father of his wife's child while an unmarried man must recognise a baby as his.