And finally… French farce over infidelity website

A court in France needs to decide if the company – Gleeden – is acting illegally by encouraging people to cheat on their spouses.

The legal question is whether its promotion of adultery is illegal when fidelity in marriage is part of French law.

The website boasts it is the world’s leading “extra-conjugal site conceived for married women”.

But when the company advertised on the public transport system it sparked outrage, with the Association of Catholic Families (ACF) filing a civil case contesting the legality of the site.

Family lawyers think ACF’s argument has a chance of succeeding because the idea that fidelity is a central part of marriage is enshrined in France’s civil code.

Article 212 of the Civil Code provides: “Married partners owe each other the duty of respect, fidelity, help and assistance.”

Jean-Marie Andres, president of the Association of Catholic Families said: “There are plenty of other websites out there which promote sexual contact between individuals, but what makes Gleeden different is that its very business model is based on marital infidelity.

“It states quite openly that its purpose is to offer married women opportunities to have sex outside the marriage.

“But here in France, people and parliament are all in agreement that marriage is a public commitment.

“It’s in the law. What we are trying to do with our suit is show that the civil code - the law - has meaning.”

Gleeden fully accepts that it is aimed at married women – its unique selling point.

The adverts encourage wives to believe cheating on their husbands is permissible and enjoyable.

One poster shows a young woman in a wedding dress with her fingers crossed behind her back.

Women do not pay to register on the site. Instead, men buy credit which enables access to women’s profiles. Gleeden claims 80 per cent of the website’s users are married.

One user, “Margot”, 44, said she has been married for many years but is not satisfied sexually by her husband. However, she said she had no intention of leaving him.

She complained about most of the men on the site though, saying:”Nearly all of them have been charlatans.”

She also conceded the website encourages adultery. She said: “Let’s face it - it is promoting infidelity. In fact, it’s selling infidelity. It’s making money out of it. People could easily be pushed into the act after seeing those advertisements.

“But let us not be hypocritical. It’s not black and white. In most marriages at some point there is infidelity, but that does not mean the marriages collapse. Sometimes the infidelity is what saves the marriage.”

Defending the website, spokeswoman Solene Paillet said: “We have plenty of clients who tell us that having a secret garden is what saved them from walking out of the marriage,”

“We didn’t invent adultery. Adultery would exist whether we were there or not.

“All we are doing is filling a demand. If people see our advertisements and are shocked, well there is no obligation.

“If you see a nice car in an ad, you aren’t obliged to buy it. You make your own mind up.”

Family law specialist Stephane Valory said the case has considerable merit, saying: “Juridically speaking, the case has a solid base. By organizing relationships between married people, it is possible to argue that Gleeden is inciting couples to violate their civic duty,” says Stephane Valory, a specialist in family law.

“However there is no certainty about it. In a case like this the courts will also take into account the changing moral values of modern society. The notion of a duty to fidelity is quite loose.

“Fifty years ago many more people would have been shocked by what Gleeden is offering.

“Today it is only a minority who notice. So the courts will certainly not rule in the same way as they would have 50 years ago.”