In a judgment delivered on 1 July 2026, the French Court of Cassation clarified that Article 373-2-6 of the French Civil Code allows the court to limit a prohibition on a child leaving French territory to the parent who presents a risk of failing to return the child.

In this case, the Family Court had ordered that two children could not leave France without the authorization of both parents. It reasoned that, although the risk of non-return concerned only the mother, the travel restriction could only operate on a bilateral basis and therefore had to apply equally to the father.

The French Court of Cassation was asked to determine whether a prohibition on leaving French territory may be limited to the sole parent who presents a risk of non-return.

The First Civil Chamber answered yes. Relying on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for private and family life) and Article 2§2 and 3 of Protocol No. 4 (freedom of movement), the Court held that the travel restriction, as defined in Article 373-2-6 of the Civil Code constitutes an interference with both the right to respect for family life and the freedom of movement.

Therefore, this measure must be necessary and proportionate to the goal of preventing non-return and breaking ties with the other parent.

Consequently, it is up to the judge to evaluate the measure of prohibiting the children from leaving the territory based on the risk of non-representation that each parent presents.

This decision clarifies that a prohibition of leaving French territory is not necessarily bilateral: it can now be individualized when the circumstances demonstrate that only one parent poses a risk of non-representation.