Just a day after the French Constitutional Court gave its stamp of approval to the new gay marriage law, the President signed it into law. Towleroad.com reports:
As expected, French President Francois Hollande signed a bill into law today making France the 14th country with marriage equality. It was only yesterday that France’s Constitutional Council approved the bill. The very first same-sex marriages in that country could come as soon as the last week of May. Just before he signed the bill, Hollande expressed his support for marriage equality in France saying: “I will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I will not accept any disruption of these marriages.”
The bill also legalized adoption for same-sex couples, although the Constitutional Council noted Friday that, as the BBC reported, “the interest of the child would be paramount in adoption cases, cautioning that legalising same-sex adoption would not automatically mean the ‘right to a child’.”
The first marriage may be in Montpellier, as LGBQ Nation reports:
The mayor of Montpellier, France announced that her city will celebrate the first gay marriage on 29 May. The celebration will take place as soon as the French marriage equality law is officially promulgated, ten days after signed by president Francois Hollande and published in the Official Journal, explained today (18 May) the city’s mayor Helene Mandroux. Mandroux is expected to marry 40 year-old Vincent Autin, chair of Inter-LGBT Languedoc-Roussillon region and 30 year-old Bruno, who have been together since last September.
Amazing – France is now the 14th country to approve marriage equality nationwide.
France’s President Hollande has indicated he will sign the marriage equality bill tomorrow, just a day after the Constitutional Court gave the law the ok. On Top Magazine reports:
French President Francois Hollande on Friday said he would sign a gay marriage bill into law possibly as early as Saturday. In brief remarks on Friday after the legislation cleared the nation’s Constitutional Council, Hollande reaffirmed the importance of respecting France’s laws. The law will take effect 10 days after Hollande signs it into law.
Which means French gays and lesbians will be able to marry May 28th!
And France becomes the next country to pass marriage equality – the President could sign it into law as soon as today, and gays and lesbians might start marrying by next month. Towleroad.com reports:
France’s Constitutional Council has approved the marriage equality bill, denying a challenge from opposition groups, and the measure is now set to become law, The Local reports: France made history on April 23 when it became the 14th country to vote gay marriage into law but opposition UMP deputies referred the bill to the Council, which has the right to throw it out if it is against the country’s constitution. However “les sages” as the council members are known has suggested they would not intervene with the wishes of parliament and on Friday they stuck to their word.
We’re over the moon for our gay and lesbian friends in France. UK, are you next?
From France, we get word that President Hollande is ready to sign the marriage equality bill into law almost at a minute’s notice. And that notice might come tomorrow. Joe.My.God reports:
Translation by JMG reader David in Paris: “As soon as the Constitutional Council has made its decision known, I will sign the #MariagePourTous [mariage equality] law.” The decision on the constitutionality of the marriage equality law is supposed to come by May 23rd, but some believe it may come tomorrow. Most expect a positive ruling.
France may have full marriage equality this week or the next!
A European gay rights group has released a new map scoring each country for its gay friendly policies. Joe.My.God reports:
ILGA-Europe has issued its annual overview of LGBT rights. Although it does not yet have full marriage equality, the United Kingdom received the highest rating of the 49 nations in the report, earning a 77% score. Russia got the lowest score at 7%. Via Pink News: Among the EU member states causing major concern are Hungary and Greece. The report notes that the economic crisis in Greece has given a platform to extremist groups, such as the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, who target minority groups including LGBT activists.
Interesting that the UK gets the highest score, despite not having yet passed a marriage equality bill.
Out French singer Mika is headlining a free concert in support of the marriage equality law in Paris on May 21st. Gay Star News reports:
British gay singer/songwriter Mika will headline a free Paris to celebrate marriage equality in France. According to French newspaper La Parisienne, Mika will headline the Long Live Equality concert to celebrate France’s gay marriage law that passed last month, and to reaffirm the importance of fighting homophobia. Originally scheduled to take place on 17 May, International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), the Long Live Equality concert was rescheduled to 21 May, five days before a national demonstration scheduled by opponents of the ‘Marriage for All’ law.
This one will take place on May 26th. Don’t these people have jobs? Oops, maybe they don’t. From Joe.My.God:
From France’s Manif Pour Tous: “More than 120 000 protesters in 15 French cities against Taubira’s law: Building up to the Mega-Demonstration on May 26 in Paris. Demonstrations for alterity in marriage all over France, demonstration against austerity at the place de la Bastille, it seems that it’s high time for the President to listen to the French people! It is high time that this law, a law that wounds democracy and weakens families and children, be abandonned. The executive branch’s strategy is clear and politically manipulative: mollify the people by delaying debate on assisted reproduction to start again when the political climate is sunnier.”
When will these folks get tired of constant protests?
This movement was born of opposition to this law. It will not stop until the law has been withdrawn. We will relentlessly continue to warn the French people of the dangers of this law. And we will defend the right of conscience for mayors opposed to this law. We will express this resolve massively, determinedly, peacefully during the May 26 MEGA-DEMONSTRATION in Paris and during other actions, diverse, peaceful, and continuous, until we are heard by the government.
Well, there’s your answer. Gotta admire their commitment, anyhow.
Joe also reports on the controversy over a tweeted image in France:
The above image went viral on French Twitter accounts yesterday, angering gay activists and embarrassing Manif Pour Tous. The poster, designed by an anti-same sex marriage activist, depicts France’s Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira, who is black, as a raging gorilla/King Kong, overwhelmed by a flow of demonstrators from the “Manif Pour Tous,” the main anti-same sex organization. The slogan is a play on words: “manif monstre” can mean ‘giant demo.’ The picture, posted on Monday night, was retweeted and commented massively by anti-gay rights activists and by both outraged anti- and pro-same sex marriage activists. French Guiana-born Christiane Taubira is, as Francois Hollande’s Minister of Justice, the main proponent of the bill legalising same-sex marriage. She has been the target of a large majority of the slogans and banners from anti-same sex marriage demonstrators.
Anti gay marriage forces held another rally in Paris and Lyon (and probably other places) this weekend. Joe.My.God reports:
An estimated 15,000 attended in Paris. The second clip, via JMG reader Str8Grandmother, is from Lyon.
The last few rallies have seen turn-out in the hundreds of thousands. Now that the marriage equality bill has passed and awaits only a constitutional review and presidential signature, are these protests slowly winding down? What do you think?
Click the link above for the second video, from Lyon.
Another disturbing story out of France, showing the dark side of the anti-gay protesters – Thierry Speitel, mayor of the town of Sigolsheim, received a threat in the mail for supporting marriage equality. Towleroad reports:
The threat comes after Speitel gave a recent interview to the local newspaper Derniers Nouvelles d’Alsace in which he talked about the probability he would marry his partner and the prospect of them adopting children. He also slammed the homophobic incidents that have taken place in France over recent months, that have been blamed on the poisonous atmosphere created by some of the more extreme opponents of gay marriage. Along with the bullets, Speitel, a practicing Catholic, was sent a copy of his newspaper interview, which contained scrawled handwritten homophobic insults.
I guess bigots don’t like being called bigots, huh?
France had its first gay wedding expo just days after the parliament adopted the marriage equality bill. Gay Star News reports:
French photographers, caterers, wedding planners, were just some of the businesses represented in a fair dedicated to the special moment when a same-sex couple ties the knot and says ‘I do’. As an economic slump sees traditional couples spend less on weddings, French entrepreneurs look for gay marriage as an attractive business opportunity. The fair, which was held yesterday (26 April) under tight security after violent anti-gay marriage protests, attracted nationwide prospective gay and lesbian clients and even from abroad.
As the marriage equality bill goes before the Constitutional Council, we don’t yet have a date for the first gay and lesbian weddings in France, but most observers think it will be sometime in June.
Just a day after the French Constitutional Court gave its stamp of approval to the new gay marriage law, the President signed it into law. Towleroad.com reports:
