Ordering a DNA test in France is a crime punishable by heavy fines and jail time

I doubt genetic testing for genealogical research and not specifically for a paternal test would be prosecuted. I think if the court found the genealogical test being used for purpose of paternity, then the subject could be prosecuted.

Does FTDNA allow geneologic testing in France? Will they send tests through the mail, and receive samples? If the law was for all genetic testing, then FTDNA would have a policy not to do business with France.

I checked and both FTDNA and 23andMe send kits to France.

Even if those tests are not specifically advertised as paternity tests, a person ordering it would still be prosecuted in France because the law prohibited any research regarding a person's identity through genetic testing. The law does not mention paternity test but "genetic fingerprints". That applies to any DNA test.
 
I was just thinking if it applied across the board, then a man could after dating some girl for a time, be introduced to his "offspring" and be expected to help put the child through school..and on his death, even if he had no further contacts with woman or child, find his estate divide between this child and any future children he might have with a future wife.

Actually I think that with the present French system it is impossible for a woman to prove that her children are from anybody else than her husband. If she is not married then the father will be the first man who recognises the children as his. Otherwise the child will be considered fatherless ("natural child" as it is stated on French birth certificates).

That aside, I wonder we are only hearing about this law now. It is ridiculous that a person cannot know his DNA grouping or perhaps lineage, especially in these times when such things are so popular. Seems the French aren`t so avant-garde in this respect.

Exactly the way I feel.
 
This law coupled with the recent revelations of NSA (and France) collecting all our communications has made it much more difficult for me to find my ancestors.

Before all of this became a focus I was making some headway winning the confidence of French internet friends who are also amateur genealogists. I was hopeful I could find someone of my surname who would do the y-DNA test which would help in my quest. As most of you probably know, the records of French (possibly) Huguenot are exceedingly difficult to find.

I now feel that most of that optimism I held is gone.
 
This law coupled with the recent revelations of NSA (and France) collecting all our communications has made it much more difficult for me to find my ancestors.

Before all of this became a focus I was making some headway winning the confidence of French internet friends who are also amateur genealogists. I was hopeful I could find someone of my surname who would do the y-DNA test which would help in my quest. As most of you probably know, the records of French (possibly) Huguenot are exceedingly difficult to find.

I now feel that most of that optimism I held is gone.

The law isn't new. It dates from 1994.
 
The law isn't new. It dates from 1994.

I've heard about this law before but I must admit I didn't really know the details of it until you posted it here. My mistaken assumption was that as long as a French citizen orders the test from another country they could still test their DNA. Boy was I wrong!

At any rate, in one conversation with a Frenchman I asked him about the French view of DNA tests and he replied that he did not really think it was worth it. I suppose, if you are French, the feeling is why look further!
 
At any rate, in one conversation with a Frenchman I asked him about the French view of DNA tests and he replied that he did not really think it was worth it. I suppose, if you are French, the feeling is why look further!

I have also tried fro many years to stimulate interest in genetic genealogy among French speakers, but was confronted with the same kind of reaction. French speakers (in France, Belgium or Switzerland) have an incomprehensible lack of interest in genetics. It is not related to the ban on DNA tests in France since the tests are perfectly legal in Belgium and Switzerland. In both countries the gap in orders between French- and Dutch-/German- speakers is huge. The Brabant DNA Project, sponsored by the Flemish government, expanded its range to the whole of Belgium, but after several years they never managed to find enough participants from French-speaking Belgium. There were over 10 times less French-speakers ordering the test than Flemish speakers. That is utterly baffling. I have tried hard to convince relatives and friends to take DNA tests, either for ancestry or medical risks, but nobody cares, even those with a medical background !
 
I have also tried fro many years to stimulate interest in genetic genealogy among French speakers, but was confronted with the same kind of reaction. French speakers (in France, Belgium or Switzerland) have an incomprehensible lack of interest in genetics. It is not related to the ban on DNA tests in France since the tests are perfectly legal in Belgium and Switzerland. In both countries the gap in orders between French- and Dutch-/German- speakers is huge. The Brabant DNA Project, sponsored by the Flemish government, expanded its range to the whole of Belgium, but after several years they never managed to find enough participants from French-speaking Belgium. There were over 10 times less French-speakers ordering the test than Flemish speakers. That is utterly baffling. I have tried hard to convince relatives and friends to take DNA tests, either for ancestry or medical risks, but nobody cares, even those with a medical background !

Now ban of testing makes better sense. French Law mirrors mentality and customs of society. It might be true to any democratic country.
 
Now ban of testing makes better sense. French Law mirrors mentality and customs of society. It might be true to any democratic country.

Much more important to my French friend is how to reduce the amount of carbon emissions by using less fossil fuels. We have discussed the best possible ways for countries to produce electricity with minimum impact on the environment. He disagrees with nuclear power plants as a good option even though the majority of electricity in France is produced this way. In contrast to the U.S., French are much more interested in lowering world pollution. The solar impulse team from Switzerland and France recently completed a flight across America without using one drop of fuel by flying an experimental airplane powered only by solar panels. I watched it being streamed live every chance I had.

I have looked at houses for sale in France and they most always list the carbon footprint of the house.... something that is never done here. It would be a great place for me and my family to live except for the somewhat restrictive laws regarding home schooling and of course the law which forbids DNA testing. I do however like the environmentalist/minimalist approach to living and my wife and I think more like Europeans than Americans. We especially like the systems of trains and buses used in France and in Europe rather that what we have here. Living without a car would be something I would like to try again.

Some of the French are interested in genealogy and some are very keenly working on the records and have released a huge number of them dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. These are mostly free on line. Now if I could just learn some more French! They are just not really interested in DNA.
 
Much more important to my French friend is how to reduce the amount of carbon emissions by using less fossil fuels. We have discussed the best possible ways for countries to produce electricity with minimum impact on the environment. He disagrees with nuclear power plants as a good option even though the majority of electricity in France is produced this way. In contrast to the U.S., French are much more interested in lowering world pollution. The solar impulse team from Switzerland and France recently completed a flight across America without using one drop of fuel by flying an experimental airplane powered only by solar panels. I watched it being streamed live every chance I had.

I have looked at houses for sale in France and they most always list the carbon footprint of the house.... something that is never done here. It would be a great place for me and my family to live except for the somewhat restrictive laws regarding home schooling and of course the law which forbids DNA testing. I do however like the environmentalist/minimalist approach to living and my wife and I think more like Europeans than Americans. We especially like the systems of trains and buses used in France and in Europe rather that what we have here. Living without a car would be something I would like to try again.

Some of the French are interested in genealogy and some are very keenly working on the records and have released a huge number of them dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. These are mostly free on line. Now if I could just learn some more French! They are just not really interested in DNA.

I gather that French are very romantic people. They dream and hope for good genealogy, descended from good families, than be disappointed by genetic tests. Their environmental views are more of romantic kind than pragmatic and based on statistics.

PS. I like French language too, but no time nor memory to learn fast.
 
Now ban of testing makes better sense. French Law mirrors mentality and customs of society. It might be true to any democratic country.

I wasn't referring to paternity tests, which is the main target of the French ban. Most French lawmakers probably aren't even aware of what genetic genealogy is.
 
Much more important to my French friend is how to reduce the amount of carbon emissions by using less fossil fuels. We have discussed the best possible ways for countries to produce electricity with minimum impact on the environment. He disagrees with nuclear power plants as a good option even though the majority of electricity in France is produced this way. In contrast to the U.S., French are much more interested in lowering world pollution.
...
I have looked at houses for sale in France and they most always list the carbon footprint of the house.... something that is never done here.

Europeans in general are more interested in lowering world pollution than Americans. It is not a French phenomenon. Actually the French are not at the forefront in the matter of eco-consciousness. That would be the Germans and the Scandinavians.

Some of the French are interested in genealogy and some are very keenly working on the records and have released a huge number of them dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. These are mostly free on line. Now if I could just learn some more French! They are just not really interested in DNA.

What baffled me is that I have tried to promote genetic genealogy on French-speaking genealogy forums and even there the interest was almost inexistent.
 
Could the "genetic avoidance" found in France have anything to do with their experiences in WWII (talk of "pure" Aryan race, etc.)? There are charged elements inherent the field of DNA-- maybe the French want nothing to do with it.
 
Could the "genetic avoidance" found in France have anything to do with their experiences in WWII (talk of "pure" Aryan race, etc.)? There are charged elements inherent the field of DNA-- maybe the French want nothing to do with it.

That could be the real reason! The experience of the French going through WWII would have been horrible as I heard my parents and grandparents talk about it. I have often thought that could be the problem and much closer to home than for us. Even if the current generation did not experience the horrors of the war, their parents and grandparents in France did.

Have you ever seen the footage from that era when the Nazis were marching-parading through Paris? It would be something that would have terrified all of them to their very core.

Being able to identify certain ethnic groups would be a fearful thing especially if someone like Hitler or even J. Edgar Hoover had that information and used it against us!
 
Could the "genetic avoidance" found in France have anything to do with their experiences in WWII (talk of "pure" Aryan race, etc.)? There are charged elements inherent the field of DNA-- maybe the French want nothing to do with it.

Very doubtful. French speakers are really the only exception in Western Europe. As I explained before, Belgians are very strongly divided along linguistic lines for DNA tests. Yet their experience of WWII was identical. Besides, if anybody should feel awkward about talks of genetic purity it is the Germans themselves. Yet there are plenty of DNA results from Germany.
 
Very doubtful. French speakers are really the only exception in Western Europe. As I explained before, Belgians are very strongly divided along linguistic lines for DNA tests. Yet their experience of WWII was identical. Besides, if anybody should feel awkward about talks of genetic purity it is the Germans themselves. Yet there are plenty of DNA results from Germany.
Well, it's a mystery either way. I'm surprised by the number of people here in the U.S. who want nothing to do with historical genetic testing.
 
Well, it's a mystery either way. I'm surprised by the number of people here in the U.S. who want nothing to do with historical genetic testing.

Nordic,

It may be similar to the huge indifference most people here in the U.S. have towards genealogy in general. My wife and I both love genealogy but we know very few family members or friends who enjoy our hobby.

Most people do not know past their grandparents what their heritage is. What makes it worse for some of us, we are just beginning to get hints of our immigrant's countries of origin. This seems to be vastly different from the majority of Americans as most can identify their ancestry to English, Irish, Italian, etc.

In both of our ancestral lines we cannot find any who came through Ellis Island. They were already here in the 1600's or earlier. Finding those records through the pre revolution history is almost impossible!

More records are appearing on line all the time, however, and we still have some hope!
 
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Very doubtful. French speakers are really the only exception in Western Europe. As I explained before, Belgians are very strongly divided along linguistic lines for DNA tests. Yet their experience of WWII was identical. Besides, if anybody should feel awkward about talks of genetic purity it is the Germans themselves. Yet there are plenty of DNA results from Germany.

Why exactly should Germans feel more awkward than others when doing DNA test?
 
Could the "genetic avoidance" found in France have anything to do with their experiences in WWII (talk of "pure" Aryan race, etc.)? There are charged elements inherent the field of DNA-- maybe the French want nothing to do with it.

I also think it's possible, especially when thinking about eugenicidal tendencies and severe privacy violations. Since the French are known for having national pride, they are possibly a little bit more aware not to be controlled by foreign powers. Just my guess.
 
Why exactly should Germans feel more awkward than others when doing DNA test?

I personally don't think they should feel awkard about it. I was replying to nordicquarreler who said that the French 'genetic avoidance' might be due to their experience of Nazi eugenics during WWII. My point was that if the French had any qualms about DNA testing because of that, then the Germans should too as their memory of Nazi eugenics is even stronger than in France.

Anyway I completely disagree with nordicquarreler that this is a reason why modern French people avoid DNA tests. It's a fanciful argument from someone who doesn't know much about France or French people.
 
I personally don't think they should feel awkard about it. I was replying to nordicquarreler who said that the French 'genetic avoidance' might be due to their experience of Nazi eugenics during WWII. My point was that if the French had any qualms about DNA testing because of that, then the Germans should too as their memory of Nazi eugenics is even stronger than in France.

Anyway I completely disagree with nordicquarreler that this is a reason why modern French people avoid DNA tests. It's a fanciful argument from someone who doesn't know much about France or French people.

Ok, but I was referring to the french laws not the people. I'm thinking that Iceland once got a lot of money from selling their genome to a US company back in 2000. Maybe France considers its genome like an asset too. If they would allow DNA tests then the neighbouring data octopussy would steal them easily, especially when done by foreign companies. Probably the french court ensures that the DNA tests are done by french companies only?
 

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