On Tuesday, the French parliament approved a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption, following a divisive public debate.
France becomes the 14th country to pass a law allowing gay marriage, and follows New Zealand last week.
The debate about gay marriage has divided the country, as it is seen as the most controversial social reform since the abolition of the death penalty in 1981. Even though the opposition is fierce, President Francois Hollande was convinced that the bill would become a law. The bill has sparked protests both for and against the law.
The opposition of the marriage equality became highly violent in the last few days. Last week three police officers were hurt and two vehicles damaged in scuffles with anti-gay marriage protestors near Paris’ Champs Elysees avenue.
Twelve protestors were arrested and charged with deliberate violence. After the incidents in Paris four men have destroyed a gay bar in Lille, a town in the northern France.
Moreover, Hollande’s administration might face some institutional problems after the adoption of the law. Around 15,000 mayors in France have declared that they will refuse to marry gay couples even if the law is adopted.
On Sunday, thousands of opponents of a gay marriage bill thronged the streets of Paris in the last-ditch to bid to block the legislation. The polls show diverging results. While most French people are in favour of gay marriage, the majority opposes adoption by gay couples. As the proposed law mixes the two together, it creates confusion within the mostly Catholic community.
The bill was largely supported by the ruling Socialists, their allies in the Green Party and the Communists, and opposed by the main opposition UMP and other right-wing and center-right parties. The importance of France as a major European state adopting gay marriage is expected to trigger other European countries to adopt the similar legislation as well.
France becomes the 14th country to pass a law allowing gay marriage, and follows New Zealand last week.
The debate about gay marriage has divided the country, as it is seen as the most controversial social reform since the abolition of the death penalty in 1981. Even though the opposition is fierce, President Francois Hollande was convinced that the bill would become a law. The bill has sparked protests both for and against the law.
The opposition of the marriage equality became highly violent in the last few days. Last week three police officers were hurt and two vehicles damaged in scuffles with anti-gay marriage protestors near Paris’ Champs Elysees avenue.
Twelve protestors were arrested and charged with deliberate violence. After the incidents in Paris four men have destroyed a gay bar in Lille, a town in the northern France.
Moreover, Hollande’s administration might face some institutional problems after the adoption of the law. Around 15,000 mayors in France have declared that they will refuse to marry gay couples even if the law is adopted.
On Sunday, thousands of opponents of a gay marriage bill thronged the streets of Paris in the last-ditch to bid to block the legislation. The polls show diverging results. While most French people are in favour of gay marriage, the majority opposes adoption by gay couples. As the proposed law mixes the two together, it creates confusion within the mostly Catholic community.
The bill was largely supported by the ruling Socialists, their allies in the Green Party and the Communists, and opposed by the main opposition UMP and other right-wing and center-right parties. The importance of France as a major European state adopting gay marriage is expected to trigger other European countries to adopt the similar legislation as well.