The move is being hailed by supporters as an historic break with prejudice

Married women will be addressed by their maiden names in official correspondence in France under a controversial raft of measures designed to encourage gender equality.

The move, included in a Bill that will also give women a say in picking the national football and rugby managers, is being hailed by supporters as an historic break with prejudice.

Critics described the legislation, adopted by the lower house of parliament this week, as a totalitarian intrusion into family life.

Feminists point out that French law has stipulated that “no citizen can carry a surname or a first name other than those expressed on their birth certificate” since the Revolution of 1789, but more than three-quarters of married women take the husband’s name.

Sébastien Denaja, a Socialist MP,