Is French society evolving faster than those governing the country? The answer is yes if we believe in the latest survey “Living conditions and aspirations” of Crédoc (Research centre for the study and monitoring of living standards). (more...)
On March 11th, France’s highest court of appeals upheld a ruling of the regional Court of Appeals in the city of Rennes January 30, 2008, which refused to legalize paid maternity leave for pregnant women in same-sex civil unions.
Referencing the social security codes, the Court of Appeals ruled that "the paid parental leave is open to the father of the child, due to a legal linkage between the child and its two parents." To which the Gay and Lesbian Parent's Association (AGPL) responded, "In terms of law, the Court of Appeals is right. It’s this very law which keeps the differences between who gets paid leave based on biological origin versus actual parenting that smacks of discrimination."
More generally, the APGL is pushing for a modification on the law so that it is provides for the same right, via a claimant’s being able to prove a social parenting role with the child.
In this court case, it is clear that the child in question is from a stable family with proper parenting from two partners in a civil union. However, the child only has one legal parent and is this in the same legal precariousness of the 200,000 children living with parents of the same-sex. The AGPL believes these children deserve the same protection as the others, beginning with those in a legally-recognized partnership.
The AGPL says that its next move will be to the para-statal organ High Authority Against All Forms of Discrimination (la Halde), ending its press release by calling the case "legal discrimination which smacks of a form of homophobia from the State."
Last news on Yagg.com [fr]