In 1791, the term mariage civil first appeared in French law in order to designate a civil and
secular union recognised only by the State. After the introduction of this term into the French legal domain, there were
legislative changes regarding the rules of civil marriages over the following years. The present paper examines the semantic evolution of
the term mariage civil in French law, relating this evolution to socio-cultural and historical aspects of France between
1791 (when civil marriage was instituted in this country) and 2013 (when the most recent legislative change in the area occurred). Based on
this investigation, it is possible to affirm the transformations in the French society and legislative changes have modified the concept
designated by the term mariage civil, especially concerning the notion of family and the achievement of rights by women and
homosexuals.