Mona Lisa would not qualify for a passport today in France

France refused to accept smiles, even a slight, Mona Lisa-like smile, in passport photos, according to a ruling by a French appeals court on Thursday.

An unnamed French civil servant sued French authorities after his initial passport application was rejected for a smile in the passport picture. He lost the suit in 2014 when a French court ruled that he had a noticeable grin in the photo.

Both French courts made their decision based on regulations concerning passport photos, which provide that "the expression (of the applicant) should be neutral with the mouth closed" and "you must certainly not smile".