Far-Right French Mayor Refuses to Marry Lesbian Couple
A far-right mayor in the south of France has refused to marry a lesbian couple in defiance of the Socialist government’s recently passed same-sex marriage law. The couple have asked regional officials to force Bollène mayor Marie-Claude Bompard to comply with the law.
Amandine Gilles, 33, and Angélique Leroux, 27, hope to be married in their hometown in south-eastern France on 10 September.
But on Friday Bompard met them and told them that she would not carry out the ceremony because it was against her religious principles.
She would also refuse to delegate another councillor to carry out the ceremony, as the law allows her to do.
Bompard is a member of far-right split from Marine Le Pen’s Front National, the Ligue du Sud (Southern League), led by her husband, Jacques.
More: Far-Right French Mayor Refuses to Marry Lesbian Couple - France - RFI