Of love or of convenience?
This article tells the story of a mixed marriage in two poor families, between a 60-year-old French woman and a 44-year-old Algerian man who met a few months before tying the knot. From the preparations to the ceremony and including the effects of this alliance on the family group, we chronologically follow the bureaucratic hardships the couple must endure as well as the opinions of their relatives regarding this event. By collecting the words of the different players involved in this marriage, the text underlines the disruptions it has caused. This union has impacts on past arrangements and has considerably changed the position of the lodgers who live in the couple’s apartment as well as that of their relatives. Those who yesterday enjoyed support are now pushed down the hierarchical ladder and are forced to consider seeking new protections. With this union, the entire landscape of interpersonal relationships is reconfigured. The ethnographic study of marriage sheds light on the importance of relations of interdependence in poor environments, whether it is through economic transfers, lodging or a whole set of provided services.