Mayors cannot refuse gay wedding

MAYORS will not be allowed to refuse to marry homosexual couples, the Conseil Constitutionnel has ruled. It said there could no “conscience clause” for mayors unhappy at performing the ceremony.

The Conseil Constitutionnel had been asked by the Collectif des Maires pour l’Enfance to rule on a circular issued by Interior Minister Manuel Valls in June that reminded mayors that they faced a fine of up to €75,000 and five years’ jail if they refused to celebrate a gay marriage.

They claimed that the circular contravened the principals of the 1789 rights declaration of human rights.

The Collectif also said that President Hollande had himself recognised that they should have “liberty of conscience“ in a speed in November 2012, before the homosexual marriage law was passed.

However, the government replied that the protection of liberty of conscience could not apply if it meant breaking the law, especially as mayors could delegate the task to other officials. That would mean making a distinction between heterosexual and homosexual couples, which the law was intended to banish.