France has updated a 200-year-old law to remove a distinction in the legal status of children born out of wedlock and those born to married couples.
The change approved by the cabinet removes the distinction between a "legitimate" child and a "natural" child born to unmarried parents, which first appeared in the 1804 Napoleonic code.
The revision means that the relationship of an unmarried mother to her child will automatically be recognised. Until now, unmarried mothers had to go to city hall to register themselves as new parents. Unmarried fathers will still need to declare themselves officially to authorities.
Almost half of all births in France in 2004 were to unmarried couples, compared with only 11.4 per cent in 1980.
The new measure was passed by the cabinet, a rarely used tactic that moves quickly and bypasses parliament.
AP