LGBT rights in France

France has traditionally been fairly tolerant in matters of private morality including homosexuality and this is reflected in the country's legislation.

Sodomy laws

Before the French revolution, sodomy was a serious crime handled by the religious courts. Jean Diot and Bruno Lenoir were the last homosexuals burned to death on January 1750 [http://www.devoiretmemoire.org/memoire/histoire_homosexualite/index.html fr] . The first French Revolution abolished the religious courts and the subsequent Penal Code of 1791 made no mention of sexual relations between consenting adults (21+) in private. This policy on private sexual conduct was kept in the Napoleonic Code of 1810, and followed in nations that adopted the Code. Yet, homosexuality and cross-dressing were widely seen as being immoral, and LGBT people were still subjected to legal harassment under various laws designed public morality and order. Homosexuals were persecuted and interned in concentration camps during the occupation of France by Nazi Germany.

Discriminatory Age of Consent & Indecency Laws

In penal code, age of consent was introduced on April 28, 1832. It was fixed to 11 years for both sexes, raised to 13 years on 1863. On August 6, 1942 Vichy government introduced a discriminative law in penal code: article 334 (moved to article 331 on 8 février 1945 by the Provisional Government of the French Republic) increased age of consent to 21 for homosexual relations and 15 for heterosexual ones. This law remained valid until August 4, 1982.

A less known discriminative law ("ordonnance" n°60-1245 on 1960, November 25 ) doubled penalty for indecent exposure in case of homosexual activity, between 1960 and 1980 (penal code article 330). This text is also known as the Mirguet amendment [http://semgai.free.fr/contenu/archives/Assemblee_juillet_60/mirguet.html fr] .

Anti-discrimination laws

Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment or service, public or private, has been prohibited since 1985. Gay and lesbian people are free to serve in the Armed Forces.

Hate crime laws

In December 2004, the National Assembly approved legislation which made homophobic or sexist comments illegal. The maximum penalty of a €45,000 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment has been criticized by civil liberty groups such as Reporters Without Borders as a serious infringement on free speech. But the conservative government of President Jacques Chirac pointed to a rise in anti-gay violence as justification for the measure. Ironically, an MP in Chirac's own UMP party, Christian Vanneste, became the first person to be convicted under the law in January 2006.

Recognition of same sex couples

Civil Solidarity Pacts (PACS), a form of registered domestic partnership, were enacted in 1999 for both same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples. Couples who enter into a PACS contract are afforded most of the legal protections and responsibilities of marriage. Unlike married couples, they are not allowed to file joint tax returns until after 3 years, even though this is repealed as of 2005, and joint tax returns can be filed immediately. The right to joint adoption and artificial insemination are also denied to PACS partners ( and are largely restricted, for heterosexual married couples), even though there are proposals to extend PACS rights and make them more similar to marriage.

Public opinion

There are large gay and lesbian communities in the cities, particularly in the Paris metropolitan area. Although homosexuality is perhaps not as well tolerated in France as in Spain, Scandinavia, and the Benelux nations, surveys of the French public reveal a considerable shift in attitudes comparable to other Western European nations. As of 2001, 55% of the French consider homosexuality "an acceptable lifestyle." [ [http://www.ambafrance-us.org/atoz/pacs.asp Embassy of France in the US - The PACS - A civil solidarity pact ] ] The current mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is gay.

In 2006, an Ipsos survey shows that 62% support same-sex marriage, while 37% were opposed. 55% believed gay and lesbian couples should not have parenting rights, while 44% believe same-sex couples should be able to adopt. [ [http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/12/121406france.htm Gay News From 365Gay.com ] ]

Organizations

* Act Up Paris
* SOS Homophobie

See also

*Feminism in France
*Same-sex marriage in France
*LGBT rights by country

References

External links

* [http://www.wellesley.edu/French/facultyhomepages/gunther/marais.htm "Le Marais: The Indifferent Ghetto."] Article about the gay neighborhood, Le Marais, in Paris.
* [http://www.wellesley.edu/French/facultyhomepages/gunther/queer.htm "Alors, are we 'queer'yet."] Article about the reception of the word "queer" in France.