Gay Paris as same-sex bill sparks protests

French parliament approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children, a flagship reform pledge by president François Hollande which sparked often violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks.

Hollande’s “marriage for all” law is the biggest social reform in France since his left-wing mentor and predecessor François Mitterrand abolished the death penalty in 1981, a move which also split the nation.

Policymakers in the lower house National Assembly, where Hollande’s Socialists have an absolute majority, passed the bill by 331 votes for and 225 against, making France the 14th country in the world to allow same-sex couples to wed.