France sees 7,000 gay marriages last year

France 24

Picture taken on May 29, 2013 in Montpellier shows Vincent Autin (L) and Bruno Boileau smiling as they sign a document during their marriage ceremony, France's first official gay marriage, at the city hall in Montpellier. AFP Photo

About 7,000 same-sex couples tied the knot in France last year after gay marriage was legalised in May, the national statistics agency said Tuesday.

France legalised same-sex marriage after months of intense and sometimes violent protests, in keeping with an election pledge by Socialist President François Hollande, who faced a huge backlash from the right and the powerful Catholic Church.

Same-sex unions made up around three percent of all marriages registered in France in 2013, France’s Insee statistics agency said.

Three out of every five gay marriages involved male couples, it said.

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