Famille ou belle-famille ?

The kinship system in modern western societies should, in theory, lead to a kind of undifferentiated filiation. The decline in importance of family lines, linked to the disappearance of the rural world and reforms in the rules of inheritance, should lead to neither partner’s families being more likely to receive preferential treatment. In practice, however, several urban surveys have shown that one of the two lines tends to be favoured, more commonly that of the woman. This tendency in a couple to favour the woman’s line over the man’s is known as matrilaterality. However, in France, few recent studies have attempted to systematically explain how matrilaterality operates. Using data from an INSEE survey of family relations within 6000 households, we will seek to show how a person’s exchanges with their husband’s or wife’s family can help us to better understand matrilaterality.