Law 2013-404

Law 2013-404
The National Assembly on 23 April 2013 approving the amended bill, in a 331–225 vote.
Parliament of France
The law opening marriage to same-sex couples, no. 2013-404 (French: Loi n° 2013-404 du 17 mai 2013 ouvrant le mariage aux couples de personnes de même sexe)
Citation	ACT No. 2013-404 of 17 May 2013
Territorial extent	French Republic
Enacted by	Parliament of France
Date passed	23 April 2013
Date signed	17 May 2013
Signed by	President François Hollande
Date commenced	29 May 2013
Legislative history
Bill	Bill no. 344 (French: Projet de loi n° 344)
Bill citation	Bill no. 344
Introduced by	Christiane Taubira
Committee report	Social Affairs Committee Report
Status: In force

The law opening marriage to same-sex couples, no. 2013-404 (French: Loi n° 2013-404 du 17 mai 2013 ouvrant le mariage aux couples de personnes de même sexe) is a French law which, since 18 May 2013, grants same-sex couples the right to marry and jointly adopt children.

It was first introduced to the National Assembly of France on 7 November 2012 as Bill no. 344 (French: Projet de loi n° 344). On 12 February 2013, the National Assembly approved the bill in a 329–229 vote. The Senate approved the full bill with a 171–165 majority on 12 April with minor amendments. On 23 April, the National Assembly approved the amended bill, in a 331–225 vote, and following approval of the law by the Constitutional Council of France, it was signed into law by President François Hollande on 17 May and published in the Journal Officiel on 18 May 2013, with the first marriages under the law scheduled for 29 May.

Same-sex marriage was an issue in the 2007 French presidential election, with the Conservative UMP opposing it and the Socialist Party supporting it, though both candidates supported civil unions. LGBT organizations in France, who believed that the prohibition of same-sex marriage was contrary to the law, asked the country's Constitutional Council to examine the constitutionality of same-sex marriage and to review the articles of the Civil Code. On 28 January 2011, the Constitutional Court of France decided that the law as it stood was constitutional, with same-sex marriage being a question for Parliament.

On 14 June 2011, the National Assembly voted 293-222 against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, introduced by Socialist Party deputy Patrick Bloche. Most deputies of the majority party Union for a Popular Movement voted against the measure, while deputies of the Socialist Party mostly voted in favor. Members of the Socialist Party stated that legalization of same-sex marriage would become a priority should they gain a majority in the 2012 legislative election.