Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen pledges to end same-sex marriage despite winning France’s gay vote
- National Front leader said she would abolish same-sex marriage in list of pledges
- Le Pen said reversal of the same-sex marriage law would not be retroactive
- President Francois Hollande signed a law legalising same sex-marriage in 2013
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has pledged to end same-sex marriage, despite gaining support from the country's gay voters.
The far-right leader said she would abolish same-sex marriage in a long list of 144 pledges released this week.
President Francois Hollande signed a law that legalised gay marriage in 2013.
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has pledged to end same-sex marriage, despite gaining support from the country's gay voters
The far-right leader said she would abolish same-sex marriage in a long list of 144 pledges released this week
Le Pen, who is currently leading the polls for the spring elections, said the reversal of the same-sex marriage law would not be retroactive.
The National Front leader is proposing to revert back to the system in place prior to 2013.
This would mean gay couples are only able to enter into civil partnerships (PACS), according to legal experts at Marilyn Stowe.
Share this article
Despite the pledge to abolish the same-sex marriage law - which was buried at number 87 on the list - the far-right leader has gained the support of LGBT voters in France.
Her support from gay married couples rose from from 19 percent in 2012 to 32 percent in 2015, the Guardian reported.
It has been suggested that one of the reasons behind the growing support among gay voters is the party's presentation of Islam as a threat to LGBT rights.
The National Front has several gay men in senior positions, including Le Pen's deputy Florian Philippot (pictured right)
The party also has several gay men in senior positions, including Le Pen's deputy Florian Philippot.
However, the majority of voters are against a reversal of the same-sex marriage law, with an Ifop poll in August suggesting 65 per cent would be against a repeal.
Daily opinion polls show Le Pen winning the first round of the vote on April 23, with independent candidate Emmanuel Macron just ahead of Republican candidate Francois Fillon Fillon in second place.
However, polls suggest that either of the two men would beat Le Pen in a second-round vote on May 7.
Daily opinion polls show Le Pen winning the first round of the vote on April 23, with independent candidate Emmanuel Macron (pictured) in second place
Most watched News videos
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
- Moment cops shoot dead 67-year-old pedophile
- Moment fire breaks out 'on Russian warship in Crimea'
- Shocking moment passengers throw punches in Turkey airplane brawl
- Shocking moment balaclava clad thief snatches phone in London
- Mother attempts to pay with savings account card which got declined
- Shocking moment man hurls racist abuse at group of women in Romford
- Shocking footage shows men brawling with machetes on London road
- Trump lawyer Alina Habba goes off over $175m fraud bond
- Staff confused as lights randomly go off in the Lords
- Lords vote against Government's Rwanda Bill
- China hit by floods after violent storms battered the country
