On April 23, 2013, the National Assembly definitively adopted the bill opening marriage to same-sex couples. The culmination of weeks of protests and virulent debates during which the socialist majority had come up against a right strongly opposed to the text.
Ten years after the adoption of the law brought by Christiane Taubira, are there many same-sex marriages? Is French opinion in favor of marriage for all? Here is a summary in a few figures.
Coming into force in May 2013, the law on marriage for all made France the 14th country in the world, and the 9th European country, to allow same-sex couples to marry. The first country to take the plunge was the Netherlands in 2001, twelve years before France. Today, 34 countries allow same-sex couples to marry. The most recent was Andorra, last February.
Even though the socialist government behind the bill held an absolute majority in the National Assembly, the debates were nonetheless tense. On the right, opposition to Christiane Taubira’s text was fierce and 4,999 amendments were tabled to block the road to marriage for all. Eventually, the law passed its second reading on April 23, with 331 votes in favor and 225 against. Many figures on the right who voted against the text have since expressed remorse: in 2014, Valérie Pécresse said she had “changed her mind”. “If I had to do it again, I would vote for the text of marriage for all,” said Gérald Darmanin, Thursday, April 20, at La Voix du Nord.
Since the entry into force of the law, nearly 70,000 same-sex marriages have been celebrated in France. Each year, they represent about 3% of unions. But in reality, according to INSEE data, PACS remains favored by homosexual couples: in 2022, around 10,000 same-sex couples have joined PACS, while 7,000 have married. Among heterosexual couples, on the contrary, marriages remain more numerous than Pacs.
Marriage for all is generally well accepted by the French population. In 2021, according to an opinion poll conducted by Statista, 59% of French people questioned approved the right to marriage for same-sex couples. Opinion has remained relatively stable since in 2012, according to a BVA poll, same-sex marriage already garnered 58% favorable opinions. The figure had however fallen at the time of the debates in Parliament, with 53% of favorable opinion (2013 CSA poll).
