FRANCE: The French national parliament legalises same-sex marriage and adoption in a 331-225 final vote

Record ID: 277847

  • Title: FRANCE: The French national parliament legalises same-sex marriage and adoption in a 331-225 final vote
  • Date: 23rd April 2013
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 23, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  • Embargoed: 8th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA3U55C5HKMMA9C2MXJN15L51Y
  • Story Text: France's parliament gave its final seal of approval to a historic law legalising same-sex marriage and adoption on Tuesday (April 23), a flagship reform pledge by President Francois Hollande which sparked often violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks.
    The vote saw members of parliament back the government's landmark bill 331-225, approving one of the country's most significant social reforms since the abolition of the death penalty in 1981, a move which also split the nation.
    The charged atmosphere in the National Assembly led to over-excited members being removed from the chamber before the announcement of the vote by speaker Claude Bartolone.

    "Can I have these crazy people removed from the Assembly? Enemies of democracy have no place in the chamber," he said.
    With a sturdy majority for the ruling Socialists in the French parliament, the final result was never seriously questioned but it will come as a blow to opponents of the measure who have waged a vocal campaign in recent months, uniting representatives of France's religious community and social conservatives.
    The law still has to be implemented with legal experts expecting the first weddings to take place in the early summer.
    France, a mainly Catholic country, follows 13 others including Canada, Denmark, Sweden and most recently Uruguay and New Zealand in letting gay and lesbian couples tie the knot. In the United States, Washington D.C. and nine states have legalised same-sex marriage.
    LGBTQI
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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