PARIS — France is delaying debate on a draft law
authorizing gay marriage, as the government grapples with increasingly vocal
opposition to the idea.
The legalization of same-sex marriages and adoption was one of the most
contentious points in Socialist President Francois Hollande’s election manifesto
earlier this year.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault first named Oct. 31 as the date when
government ministers would present the law, insisting there would be no
backtracking.
But his office said Friday that this date has been pushed back to Nov. 7. And
the debate in parliament is now expected to last until January.
On Thursday, France’s Chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim joined other religious
leaders in opposing the plans, while more than 1,200 French mayors and their
deputies have signed a petition protesting them.
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