Customary versus Civil Law within Old Regime France

Abstract

Before 1804, France was strictly divided in terms of legal regimes: the South was under Roman civil law and the North under customary laws which, as with common law, gave more flexibility to judges and fewer rights to the state. This dichotomy offers the unique opportunity to test legal origins theory free from cross-country heterogeneity. Fiscal and census data from 1801-1821 show the absence of any negative impact of the civil law both on the whole France and focusing on counties bordering the legal frontier. Civil law even appears to have a positive effect in many specifications.