A Frenchman has been ordered to pay his ex-wife €10 000 in damages for failing to have enough sex with her during their marriage, reports say.
According to online reports, the 51-year-old husband, named only as Jean-Louis, neglected his matrimonial duties to 47-year-old wife Monique, who sued him for €10 000 (£8 700) and took her divorce case to an Appeal Court.
The court in Aix-en-Provence heard that the “Jean Louis” and his 47-year-old ex-wife had been married for 21 years and raised two children on the French Riviera.
But the strains of work and illness prevented him from fulfilling his matrimonial duties, his advocate pleaded.
Jean-Louis was fined under article 215 of France’s civil code, which states married couples must agree to a “shared communal life”.
A judge has now ruled that this law implies that “sexual relations must form part of a marriage”.
“A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent,” the judge was quoted as saying.
“By getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other.” - IOL