Taroudant- Although same-sex marriage has been legal in France since May of 2013, a Franco-Moroccan gay couple was denied union Saturday in Jacob-Bellecombette, Chambéry.
According to the French daily Le Monde, the couple, Dominique, a Frenchman, and Mohammed a Moroccan, can’t get married because of a bilateral agreement between France and Morocco banning marriage of same sex couples from said countries.
Following the promulgation of the law “le mariage pour tous” (marriage for all) that was adopted by France last spring, the French Ministry of Justice released, at the end of May, a circular which states that citizens of 11 countries, including Morocco, cannot marry a person of the same sex.
The minister said that the bilateral agreements between France and such countries that do not allow same sex unions "have superior authority over the law.”
The couple announced through their lawyer that they would go to court to recognize their right to marry.
Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau celebrated their union on May marking the first same-sex couple to marry in France after fierce debate and months of anti-gay mass street-demonstrations that divided French society.
By adopting the law of marriage for all, France has become the fourteenth country worldwide to allow same-sex couples to marry.
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