Daily Times

The French national assembly has voted to amend its education law to replace the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ on school forms with ‘Parent 1’ and ‘Parent 2’. The move, which passed its first reading on Tuesday, paves the way for the change which lawmakers say gives fair recognition to families with same-sex parents and tackles discrimination. President Emmanuel Macron’s République en Marche (REM) party backed the amendment to the ‘Schools of Trust’ law in the interest of ‘anchoring the diversity of families with children in the law’, said Valérie Petit MP. Petit, who tabled the amendment, cited many the fact that most forms – such as those for a student’s absence – mention a father and mother but do not take into account the French marriage equality law that passed in 2013. Another REM assembly member, Jennifer De Temmerman, agreed that today’s ‘social and family models are a little outdated’.

Published in Daily Times, February 22^nd 2019.