A disaster that changed the law: how a collapsed dam legalized marriages with the dead (9 photos)

At the foot of the hills in the south of France, not far from the Côte d'Azur, lie the ruins of the Malpasset Dam. It was built in 1954 to tame the capricious Reyran River, which dried up in the summer and turned into a raging torrent in the winter.





The dam was supposed to provide water to farmers and residents of nearby towns.

A Fatal Project



The author of the project was André Coyne, an outstanding engineer who built dozens of dams around the world. He headed the French Office of Large Hydraulic Works and even headed the International Commission on Large Dams. Malpasset was supposed to be another triumph.

But something went wrong…





Construction was completed in 1954, but cracks appeared in the walls five years later. In December 1959, after heavy rains, the reservoir filled to the brim. The pressure was too great, and on the night of December 2, the dam collapsed.

Disaster



A huge wave swept away houses, roads, power lines. Concrete slabs weighing hundreds of tons were scattered for kilometers. More than 400 people died, thousands were left homeless. Coyne did not survive the tragedy - he died less than a year later.



An investigation showed that engineers underestimated the geology of the rocks on which the dam stood. But there was another, unexpected outcome of the catastrophe - a law allowing... marriages with the dead.

A Wedding After Death



De Gaulle

Among the dead was Andre Capra. His fiancée, Irene Jodard, was expecting a child. Despite the death of her fiancé, she wanted to marry him. When Charles de Gaulle visited the ruined city a week later, Irene begged him to allow this marriage.

The president did not refuse. A month later, parliament passed a law allowing a marriage to be registered with a deceased person - if it was proven that he would have given his consent.



Since then, such cases are not uncommon in France. Every year, about 20 couples receive permission. Most often - to legitimize children or fulfill the last will of the deceased.

How does it happen?



26-year-old Magali Jaskiewicz lived with Jonathan George for six years and had two children with him

The ceremony is quiet: the bride stands in front of a photograph of the groom, and the mayor reads not wedding vows, but a presidential decree.

But sometimes such stories make it into the press:

In 2004, Christelle Demichel married her groom, who died in a car accident.

In 2009, Magali Jaskiewicz got married to a guy who proposed to her two days before his death.



Outside France, such marriages are rare. But here, thanks to the tragedy at the Malpasset Dam, love sometimes conquers even death.