Judges in France who annulled an Algerian immigrant's marriage to a French woman say they knew it was a sham because the groom "hardly smiled" in the wedding photos, the UK-based Times newspaper reports.

It says the judgment was handed down in 2010 by Aix-en-Provence appeals court in south France, but has only now been made public after the bride overcame her family's reluctance to talk about it.

"It took eight years to digest because it was a form of disgrace," the woman's lawyer is reported in French media as saying.

"But she wanted to contact the media to alert other women so they can avoid falling into the same trap."

The woman, a 48-year-old accountant of Algerian origin living in France's second-biggest city Marseille, said she had fallen in love with the man when he was working on a building site near her office. He was eight years her junior.

She is quoted in a local newspaper (in French) as saying his behaviour towards her suddenly became hostile after the wedding.

Her lawyer said her client was "committed to the marriage but he wasn't - he only wanted a visa".