Number of French contracts that allow same-sex "marriages" soars in 2003

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2003

PARIS (AFP) — A French legal contract that allows two people -- of the same sex or not -- to enjoy nearly the same rights as under marriage has proven wildly popular, with the number signed this year soaring, the state demographics institute INED said.

More than 15,000 of the contracts -- called PaCS, for Civil Solidarity Pacts -- were signed in the first half of this year, compared with 25,000 for all of 2002, which was a record year for the initiative introduced four years ago.

The number of traditional marriages, in contrast, has fallen in recent years. In 2002, there were 280,000 marriages in France, down from 290,000 the year before.

French women continued to be among the most fertile in Europe, giving birth to an average 1.89 children per couple, just...