Résidence alternée : la justice face aux rapports sociaux de sexe et de classe

Abstract : In 2002, when French legislators introduced into the Civil Code the possibility for children of separated parents to live alternately with one parent and then the other, they institutionalized the principle of “coparenting”. Ten years later, having children live with their mother continues to be an infrequent practice when marital breakdown leads to a court-ordered settlement. On the basis of an investigation conducted in four courts between 2009 and 2010, this paper examines the reasons for this limited increase in children living alternately with one parent and then the other. It also explains why fathers, and especially mothers, having stable professional jobs – often making them part of the middle, if not upper-middle class – are far more likely to agree to alternating homes for their children than working-class men and women are.