1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 504 God, why is getting married so difficult?
Zoe told Ronan that citizens living in Lourmaran must register their marriages at the Lourmaran City Hall, not in other villages, where the 'sole jurisdiction by residence' system is strictly enforced.

Regardless of where you were born or where your wedding is held, even if you came from the moon and wanted to hold your wedding on Mars, you must still follow the local laws, otherwise your marriage will not be recognized.

“Provence can be really relaxed at times, and really strict at others. You can’t do intimate things in public, and you can’t register your marriage anywhere else.” On the way back to Lourmarin, Ronan couldn’t help but complain, “What other rules are there? Tell me about them too.”

Ronan had planned to surprise Zoe.

For example, they might plan a romantic getaway for the two of them, then elope with Zoe to the local town hall to get their marriage certificate. Many young people in Paris do this.

This plan has now completely fallen through.
Zoe patiently explained to him:
“I need to correct you on one point. In fact, only the Vaucluse department is strict in certain laws and regulations; the other departments of Provence are not like that.”

Provence is the general name for a region that comprises six administrative departments.

Ronan and Zoe lived in Lourmarin and the nearby medieval villages, which were under the jurisdiction of the Vaucluse department. The temporary weaving shop that Cafu opened, located in Apte, was also in this department, whose capital was Avignon.

The young couple just had their wedding photos taken in Aix-en-Provence, which belongs to the Bouches-du-Rhône department, whose capital city is Marseille. The department also has another famous city, Arles.

The Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department borders Italy and is one of the least densely populated departments in France. It is also the best place to see lavender fields. Valensole, Batti's previous residence, is located there. The capital of the department is Digne-les-Bains.

Cities like Nice and Cannes belong to the Alpes-Maritimes department, which borders Monaco directly. The department's capital is Nice, and its sub-capital is Grasse, the world's perfume paradise.

The other two administrative departments are Hauts-Alpes and Var, and these six departments together make up the Provence region.

Ronan was somewhat surprised.

Provence has always been an inseparable, undifferentiated place. Locals never distinguish between different provinces; they all use the name 'Provence' to refer to this area.

Now you're telling me that you want to divide things into such fine categories, and that the one that's so unique is actually the province of Vaucluse where he lives. Who would be satisfied with that?

"Why is the province of Vaucluse so special?" Ronan asked, puzzled.

Ronan often called himself a Provençal, but he had lived in this land for too short a time. He had grasped the surface of Provence, but the 'core' of Provence still needed to be explored slowly.

Zoe's explanation, word by word:

"First of all, this is definitely directly related to history. Avignon was under the jurisdiction of the Pope for more than 400 years, and even today, the diocese of Avignon still enjoys certain judicial privileges, such as those that you are dissatisfied with."

The name 'Provence' appeared as early as before Christ, but its area has undergone many changes. It can be simply understood as the coastal area near the Mediterranean Sea.

The Papacy only directly governs the area near Avignon, which is less than a third of the entire Provence.

After the French Revolution, the country underwent a new administrative division, and Avignon became the capital city of the Vaucluse department. This area overlapped 80% with the previous Papal jurisdiction. Subsequently, the entire Vaucluse department was recognized as the Diocese of Avignon, enjoying certain privileges.

“Privileges aren’t good, but there are a lot of rules,” Ronan muttered.

He had heard the farmers talk about parish privileges, and it was truly an eye-opener for him.

The so-called diocesan privileges include: some wineries in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation must offer their 'first barrel of wine' to the archdiocese every year; the archbishop has a 'legal veto power over tasting' and if he declares a vintage wine 'blasphemous to God's taste,' the winery must be burned in public; and local serious criminals can apply for 'papal repentance' to reduce their sentences before execution, etc.

These privileges now exist more as 'cultural symbols', with little binding force and are rarely exercised, since this is no longer considered a papal enclave, a situation completely different from the Middle Ages.

“But the Catholic Church takes marriage very seriously.” Zoe looked at Ronan’s profile. “Haven’t you noticed that your so-called rigor only applies to matters related to sex and marriage?”

Ronan recalled it, and it seemed to be so.

He lived in Lourmaran for over a year and never complained about the strictness of the laws and regulations, only that the people there were too lax.

In this light, the contrast in this case is indeed influenced by religion.

Avignon is a Catholic diocese, and the Catholic Church has an extremely strict attitude towards marriage, considering it an extremely sacred matter. They advocate uniqueness and indivisibility, namely monogamy and prohibition of divorce and remarriage.

“Are there any other reasons?” Ronan remembered that Zoe had used the word 'first' when explaining this reason.

So are there other influencing factors?
Zoe looked straight ahead, her expression and tone becoming sacred and solemn:
"Furthermore, we are influenced by the conservative culture of the Mediterranean. From a young age, we are taught that family interests come first. Have you ever seen such a strong family concept in other regions? In Lourmaran, marriage is the most important thing in life, without exception, even more important than the birth of a newborn, because marriage means that a new 'family' is about to be born, so it cannot be taken lightly."

Ronan curled his lip:

"It's not just that we can't be careless; it can be described as 'passing five checkpoints and defeating six generals.'"

Forming a family in Lourmaran is not easy.

A week ago, Zoe and Ronan went to the government to make an appointment for their marriage registration and filled out a "Declaration of Intent to Marry".

Without an appointment and application, they cannot successfully complete the registration, even if it was Ronan and Zoe.

"Because this service is only available on Thursday mornings." Contina has successfully completed her internship and become a full-time employee of the Lourmaran government.

But faced with enormous challenges, the Lourmaran government, which has been infused with much fresh blood, is still extremely busy.

In addition, marriage registration is a very unpopular business in Lourmaran, and this is the first case this year, so there are no full-time staff to handle it. It is just people who are not busy who come to "work part-time", and they must make an appointment in advance.

In small villages, similar situations are very common.

In the same office, one day it's handling citizen complaints, the next it's a health campaign, and the day after that it's an investment promotion office; the person sitting behind the chair might be the same one.

In short, people in small towns need to be versatile to get by.

But Ronan and Zoe were, after all, two great contributors to Lourmaran, and it was really inappropriate to make them wait a week to get their business done. The night before, Sylvie repeatedly reminded them to be nice when they were doing their business. Contina waited for the young couple at the door for several hours, and her legs were sore from standing.

The main problem was that no one informed her that Ronan and Zoe had come back from X.
"Let's go to the conference room." Although physically exhausted, Contina's attitude was extremely kind, even her questions were asked in a consultative tone. "Did you bring all the materials I told you to bring?"

“I brought it, I brought it.” Ronan patted the bulging crossbody bag at his waist and said with emotion, “Preparing these materials was really not easy.”

It's no exaggeration to say that my legs almost broke from running!
Condina said in a sympathetic tone:

"You've been very quick, you really made it in time for today. Last month, there was a couple who had to change the date three times because they couldn't prepare all the materials, and they still haven't submitted them today."

In the conference room, Ronan laid out the materials one by one according to their type.

"Here are our birth certificates, which contain our parents' information."

A birth certificate is the most basic thing you need; it's required no matter where you register your birth.

"This is my and Zoe's proof of residence, electricity bills for the past 12 months, and the land title deed for our place of residence."

Because the Avignon parish adheres to the principle of 'sole jurisdiction by place of residence,' new couples are required to register only at their place of residence, and strict residency documentation is required. If they own their own house, they need to provide 12 consecutive months of electricity or water bills, along with the property title; if they rent, they need 12 consecutive months of electricity or water bills, along with the rental agreement.

“Premarital medical examination certificate.” Ronan took out another document and pointed to the top line, saying, “Issued by Apte Hospital.”

Local law in the Vaucluse province requires that premarital medical examination certificates be completed at designated clinics in Apte or Carpenter; certificates from other provinces are not accepted.

Ronan then took out a thick stack of photocopies of identities, laid them out, and let Contina choose one:
"There are more than 20 people's ID cards here, take whatever you like."

A week ago, the staff asked them to bring the identification of four witnesses on the day of their marriage registration: two relatives of the groom and two relatives of the bride. Their purpose was to verify the authenticity of all the information provided by the couple.

Back home, Ronan asked Theo and the others for help, but they submitted a huge stack of testimonies. All of Ronan's friends wanted to be witnesses for him and Zoe.

Zoe encountered the same situation. Her group of girlfriends consisted of four people, including herself, but only two spots could be taken. Cotillard, Vivian, and Paulette were almost at each other's throats over those two spots.

Later, the young couple decided to take everything in, letting the government take the blame, and Condina became the unlucky one.

The months she spent working for the Lourmaran government had allowed Contina to mature rapidly; she was no longer the naive young woman who blocked Ronan from going upstairs.

She put away all her identification documents:
"Four documents are the minimum, there is no upper limit, this can better prove the authenticity of the materials you submitted."

Ronan continued rummaging through his bag.

“This is my and Zoe’s ‘ethics review document’,” he said, pointing to the date at the bottom, “within 72 hours.”

Moral review documents include a criminal record, which residents of Lourmaran need to obtain from the Luberon Police Headquarters.

The reason for submitting this material is that the government is concerned that some newlyweds may conceal parts of their past before marriage.

However, this information is time-sensitive and must be issued within 72 hours.

Finally, Ronan produced 110 francs in cash, which was the marriage registration fee.

These are all the materials the staff asked the young couple to prepare during their last visit.

Seeing that Contina had reviewed all the materials one by one and arranged them in order without raising any objections, Ronan asked anxiously:
"Is everything alright? Is it complete?"

Zoe is finally going to be his legal wife!

Condina nodded as she bound the materials:
"No problem, all materials are complete."

Ronan clapped his hands excitedly:
"Can I get the certificate today?"

Zoe and Condina said in unison:

"It's still a long way off, it won't happen that quickly."

Ronan was speechless.

Why is it so, so difficult to get married!
Two hours later, Ronan and Zoe finished their lunch and stood in front of the notice board at the government building.

A new announcement has appeared, which concerns Ronan and Zoe's marriage.

"A full 10 days of public notice?" Ronan crossed his arms, his face turning pale.

Zoe covered her mouth and laughed:
"This is already the simplified timeframe; previously, it required a 20-day public notice period."

Ronan pointed to the notice board and asked angrily:

"I want to know, how many bigamists are caught in the province of Vaucluse in a year? Why does it take so long to publicize this marriage?"

Condina told Ronan that during the public notice period, if anyone reported that Ronan and Zoe were already married, or that there were other obstacles to their marriage, their marriage application would not be approved until sufficient evidence was provided to continue the process.

Ronan also learned that in the Avignon parish, the official marriage certificate is issued after the wedding ceremony. Without a formal wedding, the marital status cannot be officially valid. In other words, Ronan would have to wait for more than a month!
He just wants to get married, why is it so difficult?
Zoe joked:

"Who said it's just to prevent one of us from being married and then being reported as being close relatives?"

Ronan raised his hand to pinch Zoe's face.

Are we close relatives?
Do you want to look in the mirror?

Zoe grabbed Ronan's arm and said sweetly:

"Just kidding. The purpose of marriage notarization is not just to make time to collect objections, but also to make it public."

"Publicly announce?" Ronan frowned.

Zoe pulled Ronan away from the government building and headed towards the village entrance:

"This notice will not only be posted here, but will also appear in all places with high foot traffic. As I have said, the province of Vaucluse takes marriage very seriously, and soon everyone will know that we are getting married."

A major event occurred in Lourmaran today.

A notice board appeared simultaneously in more than a dozen locations, including at the village entrance, outside the vineyard, in front of the bakery, and inside tourist attractions.

This thing hadn't appeared in the village for a long time, and when the villagers saw it, they all stopped to take a look.

The information above is as follows:
Marriage Announcement

Government of Vaucluse-Lourmarin, French Republic
In accordance with legal provisions, the following marriage announcement is hereby issued.
Mr. Ronan
Born in Paris on [date].

Occupation: Businessman, Artist
Address: xxx, Postal Code: xxx
versus

Ms. Zoe
Born on [date] in Lourmaran

Occupation: Artist
Address: xxx, Postal Code: xxx
The wedding will take place at Lourmaran Castle at 11:7 AM on July 20, 1987.

Civil Registrar: Condina

Date: June 6, 1987

(End of this chapter)