Les transformations de la famille et de la parenté en France

Abstract

When proposing to surpass the political alternative family-individual, the author underlines that the variety of contemporary families becomes comprehensible only if analyzed in the context of big structural, political and cultural evolutions that affects the entire society. With contemporary conjugality turning more and more contractual, privatized but also more unstable, the link of filiations goes the other way around, turning more unconditional. Hence, the author introduces three important aspects concerning the family institution nowadays. The first is connected to the increasing number of mixed couples. The second aspect is linked to an ever increasing life expectancy. Lastly, the third concerns the diversification of filiations by means of adoption, family reorganizations, and medically assisted conception.