‘Personne de confiance’: what French law allows you to say to the care team

On the day, there may be a moment when you hesitate. The team proposes a procedure, your partner does not answer clearly, and a small voice says: ‘I have no right to speak for her; I am not a doctor.’

That small voice is mistaken. Not simply because she is your partner — but because, if she has appointed you, the law gives you a role, a name and a framework. That role is called the personne de confiance — a trusted person. Most couples discover it in sessions, when they could have put it in place in writing weeks earlier.

This article provides general information, not individual legal advice. For a specific situation, check with your maternity unit and refer to the official texts (service-public.fr, Légifrance).

A role provided for in law, not a favour granted to you

The personne de confiance is not a courtesy offered by the hospital. It is a provision in the law of 4 March 2002 — known as the Kouchner law — on patients’ rights, incorporated into the French Public Health Code.

In practical terms, any adult can appoint a personne de confiance. During pregnancy, the mother-to-be can therefore appoint you to accompany her through her care — including childbirth.

The appointment is made in writing. Dated and signed. Many maternity units provide a form; otherwise, a document you write yourself is sufficient.
It can be revoked at any time. Control remains entirely hers — and that is what gives the role its value.
Prepare it calmly, in advance. During a pregnancy appointment or a quiet evening — not in the delivery room with contractions underway. Put it in the maternity folder alongside the birth plan.

What the role actually allows you to do

1. You accompany her through procedures and medical discussions. The personne de confiance can attend consultations and conversations with the team if the patient wishes. Your presence is part of the framework.

2. You are consulted if she can no longer express her wishes. This is the heart of the provision. If your partner is no longer able to say what she wants, the team must seek the views of the personne de confiance before deciding. Your role is to bear witness to what she wanted. You carry her voice when her own falls silent.

3. You can receive information alongside her. You are there to listen, ask for things to be rephrased and request time to understand. Two people remember more and are less easily rushed.

One limit must be clear: as long as your partner is conscious and able to express herself, she is always the one who decides. The personne de confiance never replaces a patient who can speak. The role does not give you a veto over her choices — it gives you the right to relay her wishes and bear witness to them.

Three rights that belong to her — and that you help uphold

The right to information. Before a procedure, knowing what is proposed, why, what it involves and what the alternatives are. ‘Can you explain what you are going to do, and why now?’

The right to consent. No procedure without consent. Asking for time to understand is not distrust: it is the process the law protects.

The right to refuse. To refuse a procedure, or ask for it to wait. ‘Can we take a moment before deciding?’ does not obstruct the team: it returns the decision to the person concerned.

The thread running through all three: you do not decide anything in her place. You create the conditions for her to exercise her own rights. That is how you carry someone’s voice without taking it away.

The trap: knowing your rights is no help if you wield them as a weapon

The aim is not to recite legal articles to a team doing its job, often well and under pressure. Knowing the framework serves another purpose: not staying silent through fear of getting it wrong. Asking a question instead of enduring. It turns ‘I don’t dare’ into ‘I have the right, and I can do it calmly’. The law gives you legitimacy; it is up to you to use it with a gentleness that opens doors rather than slams them.