A letter placed on the table, a package left in front of the door… You can quickly be tempted to open it, especially when it is addressed to your partner or someone who lives under the same roof. Except that in France, this gesture can be accompanied by a very (very) heavy sanction.
Who has never hesitated before a letter placed on the living room table or that of the neighbor accidentally posted in their own mailbox? By reflex, some people open the mail thinking they are doing a favor. Others want to take a look at an invoice, check what was ordered, or, let’s be honest, satisfy a simple curiosity. However, sharing the same address does not mean sharing the right to open everyone’s mail. As soon as an envelope or package has a name, it belongs to its recipient.
It is a principle well anchored in French law: the secrecy of correspondence protects the private life of each person. Whether you are married, in a civil partnership, cohabiting or simply roommates, it makes no difference. If a letter or package is addressed to a specific person, it is up to them, and no one else, to decide who can read it. The Penal Code also goes further than simply opening the envelope. It also covers the act of deleting mail, hiding it, delaying its delivery or diverting it. In other words, sneaking an envelope under a pile of magazines or hiding a package in another room to prevent it from being opened isn’t a much brighter idea.
Indeed, official government texts are very clear on the subject. Article 226-15 of the Penal Code penalizes the act, committed in bad faith, “to open, delete, delay or divert correspondence whether or not it has arrived at its destination and addressed to third parties, or to fraudulently take note of it”. Yes, because everything is based on one essential point: bad faith. If you accidentally open a letter before realizing it’s not for you, that’s obviously not the same situation. On the other hand, if you know very well that this mail is not intended for you and you open it anyway, things become much more serious.
As for sanctions, these acts are punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. And when it is the spouse, common-law partner or civil partnership partner of the victim who commits them, the penalty increases further: up to 2 years of imprisonment and a fine of 60,000 euros.
And, this rule doesn’t stop at the mailbox. The same provisions also concern correspondence “emitted, transmitted or received electronically”whether to intercept, divert, use or disclose them. In other words, emails, SMS or instant messages cannot be viewed by anyone other than the recipient. Clearly, going through a mailbox is no more authorized than opening an envelope.
