in brief: france legalises same-sex marriage

Amid protests and threats, France politicians have voted to legalise same-sex marriage and adoptions by gay couples. The bill passed 331 to 225, making France the 14th country in the world to bring about marriage equality.

Hours after the vote, fighting begun between protesters and police in Paris. Elsewhere, people celebrated.

Politicians defied threats and violence – for example, Claude Bartolone, lower house speaker for the Socialists, received an envelope filled with gunpowder – to pass the bill. However, opposition groups are determined to see it overruled. Proponents of the bill are not concerned. “We have ensured that there is no legal weakness,” said Dominique Bertinotti, family minister.

The violence has not overshadowed the achievement. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, while not expecting such resistance to the bill, has said “We believe that the first weddings will be beautiful and that they’ll bring a breeze of joy, and that those who are opposed to them today will surely be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families.”

Adoption for the law is planned for next month.

By Cory Zanoni

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