PARIS, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - A French woman aged 97 and her 101-year-old Italian partner have decided to marry in Italy 50 years after they fell in love, French media reported.

Sylvie Basin and Giuseppe Rebaudi submitted their documents at an Italian registry office on Monday. They have not yet set a date for their wedding, but the bride said she hopes to marry before summer.

"We cannot wait no longer to be called Mr and Mrs," Basin said.

The couple first met in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia when Rebaudi was single and Basin was already a widow. Rebaudi, a gynecologist, worked in Milan and Rome while Basin lived in Monaco.

The distance between the couple and their large families had prevented them from living together, and they only met during rare weekends and holidays, but were reportedly fully satisfied with their lives.

The couple waited until their nineties before finally deciding to tie the knot.

Over 20,000 centenarians currently live in France, and their number has increased five times since 1990. France's longevity record holder, Jeanne Calment, died in 1997 at the age of 122. Her claim to be the oldest person in history has stronger documental proof than rivals.