French Civil Code
In forceParental authority may be totally withdrawn, regardless of any criminal conviction, from fathers and mothers who, either through ill-treatment, habitual and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages or use of narcotics, or notorious misconduct or criminal behaviour, in particular when the child witnesses physical or psychological pressure or violence exerted by one of the parents on the other, or by a lack of care or direction, clearly endanger the child's safety, health or morals.
Parental authority may likewise be totally withdrawn, when an educational assistance measure had been taken in respect of the child, from fathers and mothers who, for more than two years, have voluntarily refrained from exercising the rights and fulfilling the duties conferred on them by article 375-7.
The action for total withdrawal of parental authority is brought before the judicial court, either by the public prosecutor, or by a family member or the child's guardian, or by the departmental child welfare service to which the child is entrusted.
