Key facts of the case - Mr R. and Mrs S. married in Algeria in 1946. The wife lodged an appeal so that he pays her an allowance as a contribution to the marriage obligations. Mr R. challenges this obligation on the ground that there is no legal matrimonial relationship between them, be it under French law or Algerian law. He claims that the proof in marriage area depends on the law of the country in which the marriage was celebrated, namely Algeria. Accordingly, by taking into account the French law, the court of appeal of Paris decision was in breach of Article 170 of the civil code. In addition he claims that their marriage was only religious, celebrated before the cadi according to the custom and had not been validated by a court.

Main reasoning of the court - The Court of cassation upholds the judgment of the Court of appeal, which took into account the proof of the religious marriage entered in the civil registry of the city of Sidi Aich in Algeria. This proof was valid both in French law and in Algerian law (place of celebration). Besides, the marriage was not religious only since it had been celebrated before the officer of the civil registry. The claim of Mr R. is dismissed.