French mairie offers ‘civil baptisms’ - what are they?

Reader Question: I have seen my mairie offers a civil baptism, but I have never heard of this before. What is it?

As a country, France has a strict principle of separation of church and state (laïcité) and as such some of the traditional rites of passage include a secular aspect, the obvious example being the fact that marriages are marked at the town hall, with a religious service being optional.

A civil baptism (baptême civil) is a celebration of the birth of a child, also held at the mairie where the family live.

It is not compulsory and indeed is not required to be offered by all mairies, so it is not always possible to have one.

The ceremony has no official purpose and does not result in any record of the event in the civil registry. If a certificate of some kind is given, it is for commemorative purposes.

However, some families opt to use the ceremony to celebrate and welcome the child into the community as well as to mark the designation of godparents of the child if some have been chosen. 

The choice of someone as a godparent does not confer any particular legal right or responsibility, though people sometimes also designate them in a will, or in front of a notaire, as being their choice to take care of the child in case of the parent/s’ death (in which case, it is best to obtain the person’s agreement first, as they are not obliged to agree). 

If you want a civil baptism, ask your mairie about it. 

In larger areas, you should ask for the état civil or vie citoyenne service.

In some cases, you can request the civil baptism online through your mairie’s website. You need to provide documents such as a birth certificate and proof of identity of the parents.

Exact conditions depend on your mairie, including the time it takes for a ceremony to be organised as well as the format it takes.