“I find myself with a wonderful family”: Thanks to genetic testing, Muriel discovers a father… in the United States

Genetic tests are banned in France, but more than a million people have already used them.

This is how Muriel Marit found her father, 60 years after she was born.

She is giving evidence in front of the cameras at 8pm on TF1.

It's a well-established ritual now. Sitting in front of her computer in Aix-en-Provence, Muriel Maret calls her father, 7,000 kilometers away in Tennessee. An ordinary scene if there ever was one, except for one detail: The retiree only discovered her existence five years ago, thanks to an online genetic test. A gift from his expatriate brother in the United States, while these tests are banned in France.

I took this test just to find out my ethnicity and found myself with a wonderful, all-American family.

Muriel Maret

Muriel was far from doubting the outcome. “I took the test, and a week later, a little girl called and it turned out to be my sister. I took the test just to find out my ethnic origins and found myself with a wonderful family, American to the end.” “, she explains in the TF1 video at 8pm at the top of this article. Because in addition to ethnic origins, these genetic tests put you in contact with potential relatives.

Serge Fournier, 92, a transatlantic expatriate, never imagined he would have a daughter in France. “I consider it an opportunity to find Muriel, who was the result of a love affair. It is a miracle! What luck!” He says. And the story does not end there, because while passing through France, in 2021, the old man officially recognized his daughter in the civil registry of the city hall of Aix-en-Provence.

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Like this pensioner, about 100,000 French people take online genetic tests every year. For less than 100 euros, a test sent from abroad arrives directly to your mailbox.