Mercatornet.com 4 February 2014
Passing a gay marriage law does not end the marriage debate, as the Prime Minister of France is discovering. Francois Hollande’s Socialist-led government has had to shelve plans to “update” family law after huge demonstrations in Paris and Lyon on Sunday against any further meddling with marriage and the family, Reuters reports.
About 100,000 people rallied to the protests organised by the movement La Manif Pour Tous (demonstration for everyone).
The government tried on Monday to reassure the protesters, who numbered over 100,000 in Paris and Lyon on Sunday, that the new law would not legalize assisted procreation for lesbian couples or surrogate motherhood for gay men who wanted children.
But when Socialist lawmakers insisted they would amend the planned bill to include those reforms, the government announced the draft law – which would also define the legal rights of step-parents in second marriages – needed more work.
“The government will not submit a family reform bill before the end of the year,” the prime minister’s office said.
http://www.mercatornet.com/conjugality/view/13517
