France’s definition
of marriage as between one man and one woman is valid under French 
constitution,
its highest court ruled on Friday.
The definition had
been challenged by two lesbians who conceived children by artificial
insemination and wanted to legally call their relationship a “marriage.”
They battled for
rights reserved for married couples, including inheritance rights and joint
custody. The case was passed to the Constitutional Council by the French Court
of Cassation in November.
The couple had hoped
that a negative decision by the Constitutional Council would force France’s
conservative government to sponsor a bill on same-sex marriage to send to
parliament.
However, the Council
ruled that the “difference in situations of same-sex couples and couples made up
of a man and a woman … can justify a difference in treatment concerning family
rights.”
The panel’s decision
was supported by two articles in France’s civil code “in conformity with the
constitution” that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
“It’s not up to the
Constitutional Council to substitute its assessment for that of lawmakers,”
wrote the body.
The court decision
doesn’t come as a surprise. The French judiciary is seen as hesitant to decide
on such matters, and few in France believed that the couple was likely to
achieve their goal of establishing homosexual “marriage.”
However, the Council
also noted that their ruling would not prevent the French parliament from
drafting a law to create same-sex marriage.