Posthumous marriage for civilians originated in the 1950s, when a dam broke and killed 400 people in Fréjus, France, including a man named André Capra, who was engaged to Irène Jodart.
Jodart pleaded with French President Charles de Gaulle to let her go along with her marriage plans even though her fiancé had died.
[2] Within months after the Fréjus dam tragedy, France's parliament drafted a law permitting posthumous marriage.
If the couple had originally planned on getting married and the family of the deceased approves, the prosecutor sends the application back to the President.
[2] Examples of ways to legally show intent are for the man to have posted banns (official wedding announcements) at the local courthouse or written permission from a soldier's commanding officer.
[4][5] Article 171 of the Civil Code requires that application refers to serious reasons for posthumous marriage.
[6] The mayor conducting the ceremony will read the Presidential decree instead of the deceased man's marriage vows.
[4] In 2004, a spouse wrote a letter to The New York Times to let people know that they have the option of marrying their lost loved ones.