FRANCE – Despite increased public support for gay rights, the French parliament has rejected a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The National Assembly voted by 293 votes to 222 to throw out the bill.
Opposition was led by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP, while other left wing members supported the bill, which said, “marriage can be contracted by two people of different sexes or of the same sex.”
Gay rights supporters, critical of the decision, say that France has fallen behind the rest of Europe on gay rights as nearby countries like Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands have all legalized gay marriage. Others, such as the UK and Germany, allow civil partnerships or unions.
In France, same-sex couples can form civil unions, but these unions do not give inheritance rights or joint custody of goods, among other things.
A recent survey by TNS Sofres showed that 58 percent of 950 respondents were in favor of gay marriage with 35 percent against. In 2006, the same agency found that only 45 percent of respondents agreed with giving gay couples the right to marry.
