Great Night for LGBT People in France as Socialist President is Elected

Tonight, LGBT groups all over France are celebrating as François Hollande, Socialist Party candidate was elected as President of the Republic with 51.9% of votes.

Why is this so important to LGBT people in France? Hollande promises as part of his program to give full equality to LGBT people over the next five years. It is a breakthrough in a country that has currently got a "separate but equal" view of gay marriage.

France has legalized a form of civil union for same-sex couples called the Pacte Civil de Solidarité or PACS (Civil Solidarity Pact) which brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage. Preparations for the legalisation of a same-sex PACS back in December 2004 were considered by many LGBT groups as a tactic for avoiding the debate on same-sex marriage. Gay and lesbian organizations in France, who believe that the prohibition of same-sex marriage is contrary to the Constitution, asked the country's Constitutional Council to examine the constitutionality of gay marriage and to review the articles of the Civil Code. According to activists, the decision could open a door for the legalization of marriage between same-sex couples in France. Around a year and a half ago, on January 28th, 2011 the Constitutional Court of France decided that the illegality of same-sex marriages is not contrary to the Constitution, clearly stating that this is a question for Parliament to decide. On June 14th, the National Assembly of France voted 293-222 against legalizing same-sex marriage.

François Fillion said security of children "isn't compatible
with gay couples".

Members of France's Socialist Party have stated that full marriage equality would be a focus-point of their program should they win the legislative elections coming up in June 2012 - something that you will probably never see from the centre-right party, the UMP, which was in power for the last five years under Nicolas Sarkozy. François Fillion, a politician from the UMP spoke out against gay marriage earlier this year while running for presidency saying "I consider we can certainly still do more to respond to the legitimate requests of homosexual couples who wish to have their place in society and I think we still have to do more in this domain, but as part of my campaign I have an objective which is the security of children, an objective which doesn't appear to me as compatible with homosexual couples".

But seeing as France has just elected a socialist president, it may not be such a good thing for the economy. After the results from the first round of the elections were released which showed Hollande as the favourite to win, France's CAC 40 dropped by 2% proving that other European countries don't hold much faith in socialism and austerity. Spain's high unemployment rate and tattered economy were amongst some of Nicolas Sarkozy's arguments against a socialist president in the live televised debate between Sarkozy and Hollande last week.

Only time will tell as markets open tomorrow morning. If the CAC 40 slumps, Hollande may be forced to drop issues such as gay marriage to appease conservative voters in the run-up to the legislative elections next month.