It will
soon be legal for same-sex couples to marry and adopt children in France, after
the new Socialist government announced plans to legalize gay marriage.
French
President Francois Hollande is to use the majority he won in parliamentary
elections two weeks ago to make good on his campaign promise to legalize gay
marriage and adoption.
The
president's office issued a statement on Friday pledging to pass the
legislation within the next five years, but no specific dates were given.
"The
government has made it an objective for the next few months to work on
implementing its campaign commitments on the fight against discrimination on
grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity," Prime Minister
Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday.
The
conservative UMP, which opposed the measure under former President Nicolas
Sarkozy, can do little to stop the Socialists from passing a law granting full
marriage rights to gay couples. In doing so, it will join fellow EU members
Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. Currently France
only allows same-sex civil unions.
The
government also plans to discuss ways of making life easier for trans-gender
individuals, whose legal dealings are often complicated by their change of name
and sex.
For
Hollande, enabling gay marriage would help boost his image as a man of his word
and an agent for progressive social change.
Changing
views
Just six
years ago, surveys indicated that most French people were opposed to changing
the definition of marriage to include same-sex marriage. According to the
pollster BVA, this has changed markedly, with more than 60 percent supporting
the idea today.
More than
two-thirds of French people still describe themselves as Roman Catholic, but
church attendance has been dropping in recent years. And fewer Catholics today
adhere to strict church teachings on sexual issues.
Conservatives
and practicing Catholics, however, are still deeply opposed to enabling gay
marriage and adoption.
"We
are convinced that young people's development requires the presence of a mother
and a father," said Thierry Vidor, head of the Familles de France umbrella
group, which represents some 70,000 families, and campaigns for traditional
family rights.
"We
will take action to try to show that this measure is ultimately dangerous for
society."
tm/bk (AFP, Reuters)
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