I n France men are addressed as Monsieur and women as Madame or Mademoiselle. While a Monsieur is a monsieur no matter what, a Madame is a married woman and a Mademoiselle an unmarried woman. This week a circular from the prime minister instructed government offices "to avoid using any distinction of this nature … 'Madame' is to replace 'Mademoiselle' as the equivalent of 'Monsieur' for men, which gives no indication of their marital status".
But I fear that yet another circular is not going to change this tenacious practice. Back in and again in a circular from the ministry of the interior stated that "Madame" should be the equivalent of "Monsieur". But things have only got worse with the internet. If you don't fill in the marital status box, you cannot submit forms, because these are "required fields".
It happens with my taxes, social security and all kinds of bookings, especially for the Eurostar On the English form I can tick "Ms" and no one pesters me about my private life. A "Madame" is also of course a brothel keeper: leaving us in no doubt that "Mademoiselle" refers first of all to a sexual state: being a virgin.
It is this aspect that the two feminist groups who campaigned for the change have been protesting about. The same intrusiveness applies to your name. When a Frenchwoman gets married, there is no legal obligation for her to take her husband's name. But most state organisations automatically change her surname. The infuriating "maiden name" box appears on the vast majority of administrative forms, payslips, invoices, medical records and even online shopping services.
On my national insurance card I have found it impossible to keep my real name. As for my taxes, only in the past two years has my own name appeared next to my husband's, who remains the "head of the family" a concept that no longer has any legal meaning, but remains in use.
