[2] On 14 June 2011, the National Assembly voted 293-222 against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, introduced by Socialist Party deputy Patrick Bloche.

[4] During his campaign for the 2012 presidential election, Socialist Party candidate François Hollande declared his support for same-sex marriage and adoption for LGBT couples, and included them as one of his 60 government commitments.

[7] On 17 June, Hollande's party won an absolute majority in the French Assembly,[8] which was followed by an announcement by the government spokesperson Najat Vallaud-Belkacem on Pride Day that the marriage equality law would be adopted in spring 2013 at the latest.

[9] On 3 July, in his first speech in front of the newly elected assembly, Prime Minister Ayrault announced that marriage and adoption for everybody will be a reality "in the first semester of 2013".

[10] In August 2012, Prime Minister Ayrault announced that a bill to legalize same-sex marriage would be introduced to the National Assembly and the Senate in October 2012.

[15] On 26 October 2012, the former prime minister and deputy of Paris François Fillon (UMP) stated that his party would repeal the law, if it wins the next election.

Dominique Bertinotti, minister for the family, considered that these words "do not honor" the member and replied: "At the time of PACS, you proclaimed the end of the world.

It heard evidence from countries already having opened up marriage to same-sex couples, representatives of institutions, anthropologists, philosophers, doctors, lawyers and LGBT families.

[20] On 6 December 2012, Nicolas Gougain, spokesman of Inter-LGBT, denounced insinuations during his hearing before the committee that "because you are gay parents, you are potentially dangerous to your children because of the company you keep".

[22] On 15 and 16 January, the debate in the Law Commission went over the text of the bill, including an amendment by the rapporteur Erwann Binet to Article 4 of the draft stating that the provisions of the Civil Code apply to "same-sex parents when referring to the father and mother" and not to grandparents.

In a speech following the vote, justice minister Christiane Taubira, who had authored the bill, expressed her "pride", saying: "Those who are opposed today will surely be surprised to be overcome with emotion at the happiness of the married couples".

[43][44] According to the legal experts there was little chance of preventing the passage of the bill on these grounds,[44] and the president of the Constitutional Council, Jean-Louis Debré, had himself already ruled the possibility out.

[46] On 17 May 2013, the law was promulgated by President François Hollande, and published in the Journal officiel de la République française (JORF) the next day.

[50] On 28 January 2015, the Court of Cassation found those provisions discriminatory and contrary to French law so there are no longer limitations on binational same-sex couples getting married.

[55] Opponents include religious leaders (Catholic, some Protestant churches, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims),[56][57] associations defending the rights of the children and families, atheists, and even a group of gay people against same-sex marriage.

[59] Following the announcement of the French parliament's vote results in early April 2013, those in opposition to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in France participated in public protests.

In both Paris and Lyon, violence erupted as protesters clashed with police; the issue had also mobilised right-wing forces in the country, including neo-Nazis.

"[60] On May 21, four days after the bill was passed, historian Dominique Venner committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun inside the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.

"[65] Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, who is openly gay, said on French television: "There is a big difference between today's march and the one two weeks ago, which is that this demonstration is one of brotherhood, not of hatred."