Home › Explained sheets › Living in French society
Exercising parental authority (2/2)
French law comes before cultural and family values. Values that contradict the law cannot be passed on or applied.
Key points of the sheet
- Example: equality between girls and boys must be respected, even in private life.
- Parents have the right and the duty to manage their child's property. For example, a flat that comes from an inheritance.
- Parents have legal use of the child's property (jouissance légale) until the child is 16. For example, they can keep the rent from a flat the child owns.
- Parental authority ends when the child is 18, if the child is emancipated, or if parental authority is withdrawn.
Words to know
- parental authority (autorité parentale)
- It also covers the child's property and it ends in certain situations.
- legal use (jouissance légale)
- Parents have it over the child's property until age 16, for example the rent from a flat.
- emancipated (émancipé)
- An emancipated child becomes an adult before 18, for example in case of conflict with the parents.
- withdrawal of parental authority (retrait de l'autorité parentale)
- It is one of the situations that end parental authority.
Test yourself: 3 questions
What comes before cultural and family values?
In French, the language of the exam: Qu'est-ce qui est prioritaire sur les valeurs culturelles et familiales ?
French law comes before cultural and family values.
Until what age do parents have legal use of the child's property?
In French, the language of the exam: Jusqu'à quel âge les parents ont-ils la jouissance légale des biens de l'enfant ?
Parents have legal use of the child's property until the child is 16.
What does it mean for a child to be emancipated?
In French, the language of the exam: Que signifie être émancipé pour un enfant ?
An emancipated child becomes an adult before 18. This ends parental authority.
You have read the sheet. See where you stand with 40 questions like the real exam.
Take the free mock exam (40 questions)Free mock exam · Exam Pass €19 incl. VAT, paid once, no subscription
More in this topic (Parenthood)
- School for allophone children (children whose first language is not French)
- The freedom to choose your child's school
- The OEPRE programme
Source
Sheet “Exercice de l’autorité parentale (2/2)” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.