The polygamy is for an individual makes it have several couple: for a woman having several husbands one speaks about Polyandrie, for a man having several women of Polygynie. More generally, polygamy indicates the situation of a species Animal E in which an individual couples with several sexual partners. In Social sciences, the term polygamy is often employed to indicate the Polygynie, but it is then an abusive employment.

The term is formed starting from two Greek words, " polus" who means " plusieurs" and " gamos" , meaning " mariage".

Polygamy is opposed to the Monogamie. In the precise case of two simultaneous couple, it is about a Bigamie. One distinguishes different under types of polygamy, in particular the parallel polygamy which indicates the situation until now when an individual couples himself with several partners, not during the same sex act but during the same reproductive period and the sequential polygamy which consists in for an individual having several different partners during his life, but not in a simultaneous way. This last form of polygamy is also known as serial monogamy .

Polygamy is a practice badly perceived in the Civilization Occident ale so much so that many State S recognize it like a Délit. However, some of these Administration S in question tolerate it in practice. On the other hand, of many countries authorize polygyny without nevertheless encouraging it. It is the case not only of the totality of the countries with strong Moslem population , except for the Turkey and of the Tunisia having prohibited it in 1957, but also of some countries African animists . Some States authorize also the Polyandrie.

Polygamy in France

It is in theory prohibited by the law but in practice, the French Administration for a long time tolerates polygamy for the Immigré S, under the terms of the traditional respect of the personal status from abroad. August 24th, 1993, a law is voted to prohibit the Family gathering for the polygamous ones. A little later several circulars reconsider strict prohibition. That of February 8th, 1994 specifies that the women who have French children or who have remained in France for more than fifteen years are inexpulsables. In April 2000 and in June 2001, two other circulars grant the renewal of the residence permits for the polygamous families made to France before 1993, provided the households “décohabitent”. According to the figures of the Management of the populations and migrants of the ministry for the social Affairs, between 8  000 and 15  000 households would have practiced polygamy in France in 2004. The ministry for the Interior advances estimates between 10  000 and 20  000.

A stop of assembly of the Council of State of July 11th, 1980, the Montcho stop, admitted the family gathering from abroad in the case of polygamy.

Discusses on polygamy

Declarations at the time of the riots of 2005 in the French suburbs

The Tuesday the 15th and Wednesday, November 16, 2005, the deputy secretary with employment, Gerard Larcher, and chair it group UMP the National Assembly, Bernard Accoyer, affirm that polygamy constitutes one of the causes of these Urban violences. The Minister of Interior Department, Nicolas Sarkozy had already declared on November 10th previous that “ there are more problems for a child of an immigrant of Black Africa or North Africa that for a Hungarian or Dane, Swede son. Because culture, because polygamy, because the social origins make that it has more difficulties. ” Helene Carrère d' Encausse, secretary perpetual of the French Academy is due of the remarks similar to the newspaper Libération : “ Everyone is astonished: why the African children are in the street and not at the school? Why their parents cannot buy an apartment? It is clear, why: many of these Africans, I say it to you, are polygamous. In an apartment, there are three or four women and 25 children. They are crammed so much that it is not any more of the apartments, but God knows what! It is included/understood why these children run in the streets. ” These declarations caused an outcry at the associative personalities and the political personalities of left. For the socialist deputy and mayor of Évry (the Essonne), Manuel Valls, “ to give rise to think that the current problems of the suburbs would be directly related to polygamy is awkward, even unbearable. ” According to the communist deputy Jean-Claude Sandrier, “ the authorities seeks scapegoats the main issue for integration it is employment. ” the Greens denounces the “racist relents” line and government.

See also: riots of 2005 in the French suburbs

In Canada, a study defends polygamy

A legal study ordered by the Canadian ministry for Justice invites to repeal the law sanctioning polygamy while reinforcing the laws protecting the women and the children living in families with multiple couple, reveals Thursday, January 12 2006 the agency Canadian Close.
This report/ratio, written by three law professors of the Ontario, advances in particular the fact that the article of the Canadian Penal code sanctioning polygamy does not have any utility, in particular owing to the fact that it is almost never appliqué.
“ the criminalisation does not attack the evils associated with the valid foreign polygamous marriages and with the plural unions, in particular with the evils concerning the women ”, the authors affirm. They recommend to replace this prohibition by a modification of the law offering a real protection in their relation, in particular in their offering a right to the heritage.

According to one of the authors, the criminalisation would have even perverse effects being reflected on the women and the children. “ Why criminaliser this behavior? We do not criminalisons adultery ”, affirms it.

“ In the light of the fact that we have a company rightly permissive… why let us distinguish this particular form from behavior by criminalisant it? ”, continues the auteur.
“ If there are problems such as abuses on children or abuses between couple, there exist other penal provisions and other laws treating of these problems, and who should certainly be reinforced ”, estimates it.

A study of the INED on polygamy

In March 1995, the National institute of demographic studies (INED) makes a study on the capacity of the France to integrate the foreigners. Part of this investigation relates to polygamy. In 1995, the INED estimates that there are 10.000 polygamous households in France. The investigation also specifies that this practice exists almost only among women of African Ethnie Mandé, who represent less than one quarter of the black African population of France.

The fertility rate of a polygamous household is not easily estimable and INSEE admitted to have underestimated migratory balance (Le Figaro August 24th, 2006), therefore it is to date difficult to have a precise estimate of the number of the polygamous households in France.

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