Same-sex marriage in France
Same-sex marriage cannot legally be performed in France, though some foreign same-sex marriages are recognized and the PACS, which confers some of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage, is available to same-sex couples.
Same-sex marriage was an issue in the 2007 presidential election, with the Conservative UMP opposing it and the Socialist Party supporting it, though both candidates support PACS. Gay and lesbian organizations in France, who believe that the prohibition of same-sex marriage is contrary to the Constitution, have asked the country's Constitutional Council to examine the constitutionality of gay marriage and to review the articles of the Civil Code. According to activists, the decision could open a door for the legalization of marriage between same-sex couples in France. On January 28, 2011 the Constitutional Court of France has decided that the illegality of same-sex marriages is not contrary to the Constitution, clearly stating that this is a question for Parliament to decide.[1]
On June 14, 2011, the National Assembly of France voted 293-222 against legalizing same-sex marriage.[2] Deputies of the majority party Union for a Popular Movement voted mostly against the measure, while deputies of the Socialist Party mostly voted in favor. Members of the Socialist Party stated that legalization of same-sex marriage would become a priority should they gain a majority in the French legislative election, 2012.[3]
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[edit] History of executive action
[edit] Mamère and same-sex marriage
On June 5, 2004, former Green Party presidential candidate Noël Mamère, Mayor of the Bordeaux suburb of Bègles, conducted a same-sex marriage ceremony for two men, Bertrand Charpentier and Stéphane Chapin. Mamère claimed that there was nothing in French law to prohibit such a ceremony, and that he would appeal any challenge to the European Court of Human Rights.
French Justice Minister Dominique Perben had stated that such unions would be legally void, and called for judicial intervention to halt the ceremony. On July 27, 2004, the Bordeaux court of general jurisdiction declared the marriage null and void. One legal argument defended by the public prosecutor, which, representing the national government, opposed the marriage, was that the civil code speaks several times of a husband and a wife, which implies different genders (the French for wife, femme, actually means woman in addition to wife). On April 19, 2005, the appeals court of Bordeaux upheld the ruling. Charpentier and Chapin announced they would appeal the ruling before the Court of Cassation on grounds of discrimination.
[edit] Reaction
Shortly after the ceremony took place, Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin instituted disciplinary procedures against Mamère. Mamère was suspended for a month. The local administrative court ruled that Mamère's suspension was legal and motivated. Mamère said he would not appeal the ruling (Mamère had already unsuccessfully tried to obtain an injunction from the court, and then had appealed the case to the Conseil d'État; both had ruled that an injunction was not justified on grounds of urgency).
On May 11, 2004, Socialist Party leader François Hollande announced that he would ask his party to file a draft law which would render such marriages unequivocally legal. Some other party leaders, such as former prime minister Lionel Jospin, disapproved publicly of same-sex marriages. Hollande's partner, Ségolène Royal, said at the time that she had doubts about same-sex marriage, but now supports it fully.[4]
[edit] Jean Vila in Cabestany
On November 12, 2011, Cabestany mayor Jean Vila performed a same-sex wedding ceremony for a couple named Patrick, 48, and Guillaume, 37[5]. The marriage was not recorded in order to prevent a subsequent nullification, and Vila described it as a "militant act": “There are times when it is necessary to act outside the law. Refusing homosexual marriage is to deny the reality of thousands of couples.”
The Paris government's reaction was mixed: junior Families Minister Claude Greff called the event a "provocation on the eve of the presidential election" in 2012, while Solidarity Minister Roselyne Bachelot stated that she supported same-sex marriage but that the ceremony was “not the best way to advance the cause”[6].
[edit] Parliamentary report
A parliamentary "Report on the Family and the Rights of Children" was released on January 25, 2006.[7] Although the committee recommended increasing some rights given in PACS, it recommended maintaining prohibitions against marriage, adoption, and access to medically assisted reproduction for same-sex couples, arguing that these three issues were inseparable and that allowing them would contravene a number of articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which France is a signatory (although many UN nations do grant some or all of these rights to same-sex couples). Referring to the rights of children as a human rights issue, the report argued that children "now have rights and to systematically give preference to adult aspirations over respect for these rights is not possible any more." [8] Because of these prohibitions, left-wing members of the committee rejected the report.[9]
[edit] Recognition of foreign same-sex marriages
Under current French law, same-sex marriages performed abroad are not recognized in France if at least one of the spouses is a French national or a national of some other country that does not recognize same-sex marriages. According to a reply of the French Minister of Justice to a parliamentary question[10] a marriage performed abroad between two persons of the same sex both of which are nationals of countries allowing same-sex marriage, could be recognized in France. Accordingly, on July 11, 2008, a Dutch same-sex couple was able to get their marriage recognized for tax purposes in the country.[11] There is as yet no case law confirming or contradicting this legal position.
[edit] Public opinion
Opinion polls generally show that the French public supports the legalisation of same-sex marriage:
- A 1996 Ifop poll found that 48% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, with 33% opposed.[12]
- A 2003 Gallup poll found that 58% of respondents supported same-sex marriage.[13]
- A May 2004 Ipsos poll found that 57% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, with 38% opposed. Younger people were particularly favourable, with 75% of those under 35 in support. Nevertheless, only 40% were in favour of adoption rights, although 56% of those younger than 35 were in support.[14]
- A 2004 Ifop poll found 64% of respondents in support of same-sex marriage, with 49% supporting adoption rights.[12]
- A 2006 Eurobarometer survey found that 48% of respondents supported same-sex marriage being allowed "throughout Europe". This was 4% above the EU average. Support for adoption rights was at 35%, 3% above the EU average.[15]
- A 2006 Ipsos poll found that 61% of respondents favoured the recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples.[16]
- A June 2006 TNS-Sofres poll found that 45% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, with 51% opposed. 36% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples.[16]
- A June 2008 Ifop poll found 62% of respondents in favour of same-sex marriage, with 38% against. 51% supported adoption rights. Support was very high among younger people, with 77% of those aged between 25 and 34 in favour.[17]
- A November 2009 BVA poll found 64% of respondents in favour of same-sex marriage, including for the first time a majority of right-wing voters. 57% supported adoption rights (support was 68% among those between 18 and 25 years).[18]
- A July 2010 Crédoc poll found 61% of respondents in favour of same-sex marriage, while 48% supported adoption rights.[19]
- A January 2011 TNS-Sofres poll found that 58% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, with 35% opposed. Support was 74% among those under 35 years. 49% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples.[20]
- A June 2011 Ifop poll found that 63% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage, while 58% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples.[21]
[edit] References
- ^ Decision 2010-92 , Conseil constitutionnel
- ^ "French parliament rejects gay marriage bill", China Daily. June 14, 2011. Accessed June 15, 2011
- ^ "French parliament rejects same-sex marriage bill". Agence France-Presse. France 24. 14 June 2011. http://www.france24.com/en/20110614-french-parliament-rejects-gay-marriage-bill-homosexuality. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Platiau, Charles (2006-01-19). "France's Royal says supports gay marriage, adoption". Reuters. The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 2006-01-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20060622032009/http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=899662006. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ "Gay couple, Communist mayor defy French law with same-sex marriage". RFI. 12 November 2011. http://www.english.rfi.fr/europe/20111112-gay-couple-communist-mayor-defy-french-law-same-sex-marriage.
- ^ Stephen Gray (14 November 2011, 9:45am). "French mayor performs “militant gay marriage ceremony”". PinkNews. http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/11/14/french-mayor-performs-militant-gay-marriage-ceremony.
- ^ Rapport au nom de la mission d'information sur la famille et les droits des enfants, French National Assembly, January 25, 2006
- ^ Preserve Marriage - Links
- ^ "Amour Rules in France but Weddings Don't". Associated Press. CBS News. 2006-01-27. Archived from the original on 2008-01-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080109103018/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/27/ap/world/mainD8FD93I86.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Reply to Parliamentary Question 41533, National Assembly of France
- ^ La France reconnaît le mariage d'un couple d'hommes néerlandais, Le Monde, 5 September 2008
- ^ a b "Les Français et les droits des couples homosexuels" (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. 2004-03-10. Archived from the original on 2004-08-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20040826064139/http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/OPINIONF/droitshomo.asp. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Ford, Peter (2004-05-27). "France joins gay marriage debate". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0527/p01s03-woeu.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Ipsos.fr - Mariage homosexuel : près de six Français sur dix y sont favorables
- ^ http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb66/eb66_highlights_en.pdf
- ^ a b Sondage: 51% des Français opposés au mariage homosexuel
- ^ "Couples homosexuels: Les Français sont pour l'adoption". Le Journal du Dimanche. 2008-06-27. http://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/Actualite/Couples-homosexuels-Les-Francais-sont-pour-l-adoption-90821/. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Un sondage historique: la majorité des Français favorable à l'adoption par des homos, Tetu
- ^ [1]
- ^ Une majorité des Français est favorable au mariage des homos, Tetu, 28 January 2011
- ^ Selon la préfecture de police, il n'y a (presque) pas eu de Marche des fiertés, Tetu, 25 June 2011
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Gunther, Scott. "The Elastic Closet: A History of Homosexuality in France, 1942-present" Book about the history of homosexual movements in France (sample chapter available online). New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009. ISBN 023022105X
- BBC News article: "France annuls first gay wedding (July 2004)"
- Washington Times article: "France ready to change civil pact (Dec. 2004)"
- Report on the Family and the Rights of Children: Executive summary, List of proposals and full report (January 2006)
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