France Refuses To Suspend Pensions Of Deceased Polygamous Algerians

The French National Assembly rejected the proposal of Republican representatives to prevent the sharing of the pensions of deceased polygamous persons notably residing in Algeria, Maghreb countries, and others from West Africa.

The official website of the French National Assembly indicated that this proposal submitted by 12 Republican MPs two weeks ago was rejected by a special committee tasked with studying and preparing a law respecting the principles of the French Republic, as the owners of the proposal were notified that it was rejected on January 21, after discussions that took place regarding this legislative amendment.

In the discussions, French representatives in the same committee stated that international covenants and treaties ratified by France have a higher authority than laws ratified by Parliament, which makes it impossible to implement.

Twelve French deputies from the Republican bloc of the French National Assembly, led by Eric Ciotti and others, had submitted a proposal to the government to cancel the division of the deceased’s pension among the heirs, in case he was polygamous, and the procedure, if approved, includes Algeria and several other countries, such as Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania and other countries notably from West Africa.

The proposal, tabled on January 14, called on the French government to re-negotiate with Algeria and 12 other countries regarding bilateral social security agreements or to reject them, as they allow the sharing of the heirs’ pension in the event of polygamy.

For years, French MPs have raised the issue of sharing the deceased’s pension among his wives, who, according to them, are opposed to the values of the French Republic, which by law prohibit polygamy, especially with countries that have a large number of polygamous retirees, such as Algeria and the countries of North and West Africa.