Controversial at its birth, the Civil Solidarity Pact is today well anchored in morals. Some teachers also decide to enter into a civil partnership to facilitate their transfer to an academy other than the one to which they are assigned.
The Pacs celebrates its 25th anniversary on Friday, November 15. Nearly 210,000 unions are celebrated each year through this Civil Solidarity Pact. A controversial text at its birth, but totally anchored in customs in 2024, some also see this union as an opportunity: the PACS is in fact sometimes diverted from its main uses, in order to facilitate transfers in the public service. In short: having a fake spouse allows certain teachers to accelerate an assignment to a popular region.
Emma has decided to enter into a civil partnership to be transferred to the academy of her choice. “You have to play with the system because otherwise you’re stuck for life,” confides the PE teacher of four years.
Originally from Montpellier, she was assigned to Paris for her first three years, but she wanted to return home. “Without the PACS, you had to stay between five and six years in Paris to be able to hope to move to an academy”she assures. “It was kind of the only quick solution,” says the teacher. “If you are single without children, you are necessarily in places that are not always nice in France.”
Determined, she finds a friend who agrees to enter into a civil partnership. “He knows the world of national education and he was just very nice,” says Emma. She then accumulates points to have a better chance of returning to her academy in Montpellier.
“The PACS is 150 points. Then each year of separation from my partner, it's between 100 and 150 points if I'm not mistaken… So that allowed me to have 400 points easily. Without PACS , I would have had 60.”
Emma, PE teacherat franceinfo
Bingo: once his wish is accepted, his PACS is no longer of any use to him. “We’re going to break it up soon.”she specifies. She even prefers to laugh about it: “I’m buying him a big Michelin-starred restaurant when we divorce”she said, smiling. However, she knows that by using this technique, she is not respecting one of the PACS criteria: that of committing to a life together.
David also sought to enter into a civil partnership. Originally from Ardèche, future history and geography teacher, he is still a student at Saint-Etienne and wants to stay in the Lyon academy. “After five years I made my life there. I feel good there, I didn't want to have to get used to rebuilding my life again elsewhere”, he explains.
David therefore asks friends to enter into a civil partnership but, no luck, “They were already a couple.” To avoid this type of refusal, some go to teacher forums to find someone to enter into a civil partnership with and remuneration is sometimes even offered. “I also looked on Leboncoin and there were ads,” relates Zoé.
She finally finds happiness by posting a message on Instagram. In the middle of the wish period, she is still waiting to know if it will work. But in any case, she feels no remorse. “In a period where there are so many people doing it. For many people it worked, so we ignore the fact that it is immoral,” she maintains.
The extent of the phenomenon is nevertheless difficult to quantify for the Ministry of National Education, which claims to take marital status into account, but does not check what is happening in the private lives of agents.
