Google – AFP, Abhik Kumar Chanda (AFP), 18 May 2013
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Two women
kiss in front of a wedding shop during a pro-gay marriage demonstration
on
January 26, 2013 in central France (AFP/File, Jeff Pachoud)
|
PARIS —
France became the 14th country to legalise same-sex marriage Saturday after
President Francois Hollande signed the measure into law following months of
bitter political debate.
Hollande
acted a day after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the
right-wing opposition, which had been the last obstacle to passing the bill
into law. The legislation also legalises gay adoption.
But while
gay rights groups hailed the move, opponents of the measures have vowed to
fight on.
 |
Riot police
watch protesters from an
anti-gay group on May 17, 2013 in Paris.
(AFP,
Miguel Medina)
|
On Friday,
he tried to turn the page on months of bitter opposition to the measures,
arguing it was "time to respect the law and the Republic".
And he
warned that he would tolerate no resistance.
"I
will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I
will not accept any disruption of these marriages," said the president.
French
Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who steered the legislation through
parliament, has said the first gay marriages could be celebrated as early as
June.
Marriages
in France must take place in town halls, most of which take around four weeks
to process marriage applications.
The issue
of gay marriage and adoption has provoked months of acrimonious debate and
hundreds of protests that have occasionally spilled over into violence and is
unlikely to drop off the political agenda.
Although
the Constitutional Council approved the bill on Friday, the International Day Against
Homophobia, its opponents have vowed to fight on.
They have
called a major protest rally scheduled for May 26 in Paris -- and previous
protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people.
 |
Members of
anti-gay marriage movements
gather on May 16, 2013 in front of the
Sorbonne
University in Paris (AFP/File,
Martin Bureau)
|
But
Friday's statement by the Constitutional Council said same-sex marriage
"did not run contrary to any constitutional principles," and that it
did not infringe on "basic rights or liberties or national
sovereignty".
Reacting to
the ruling Friday, UMP party chief Jean-Francois Cope told TF1 television:
"It is a decision that I regret, but that I respect."
But late on
Friday, between 200 and 300 protesters gathered in central Paris to denounce
the ruling backing the bill and calling on Hollande to resign. One police
officer was injured after a flammable liquid was thrown in his face.
Earlier, a
group of bare-chested men wearing white masks staged their own protest against
gay marriage on one of the bridges over the Seine. They call themselves the
"Hommen" -- a riposte to the bare-breasted feminist protesters known
as the "Femmen".
Gay rights
groups hailed the decision as a watershed.
"Now
it's celebration time," said spokesman Nicolas Gougain of the LGBT
association representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
communities.
 |
A person holds
a placard to support gay
marriage and adoption on January 26, 2013
in Lyon
(AFP/File, Jeff Pachoud)
|
The issue
of gay marriage has divided France, which is officially secular but
overwhelmingly Catholic. Protests against the bill drew hundreds of thousands,
with a handful of hard-core protesters clashing with police.
Last year,
the proposals seemed to enjoy solid majority backing among French voters.
But as the
opposition campaign got into gear, more recent polls indicated a shift of
opinion to the extent that the electorate is now fairly evenly split on both
gay marriage and adoption.
 |
Homophobia
in Europe (AFP Graphic)
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