France has become the 14th country to legalise same-sex marriage, less than a week after New Zealand.

In its second and final reading, a majority of lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 331 to 225.

"After 136 hours and 46 minutes of debate, Parliament has adopted the law opening marriage to same-sex couples," the Socialist speaker of the Assembly, Claude Bartolone, said after the vote.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira hailed the adoption of the bill as a "historic" moment in French history.

"It grants equal rights, stands firmly against discrimination and testifies to our country's respect for the institution of marriage," she said in a statement shortly after the vote.

"This law... brightens the horizons of many of our citizens who were deprived of these rights," she said.

New Zealand's parliament famously sang with joy. In France's last week, MPs threw punches at each other at the end of a long and acrimonious debate on the "marriage for all" bill.

One MP was left holding his broken glasses, saying he had been in parliament 30 years and never seen anything like it. The justice minister compared it to a saloon in a spaghetti western.

The debate had caused violence against gay couples to triple across the country.

Last Thursday Mr Hollande publicly condemned homophobic attacks, which he blamed on the parliamentary right "justifying violence" with its arguments against the bill.

The day before, four men had attacked staff in a gay bar in the old town of Lille.

"They came to beat up gays – that's exactly how they phrased it," said the bar owner. The same night masked men attacked a gay bar in Bordeaux.

Two weeks ago, the shocking image of the bloodied and bruised face of Wilfred de Bruijn went viral on social media.




"It's the face of homophobia," Mr de Bruijn said. "Last night [my partner] Olivier and I were badly beaten up just for walking arm in arm."

Socialist MP Slyviane Bulteau said she had received a death threat, and her colleague Hugues Fourage had been told his house would be smashed up.

Despite the resistance, the law's supporters are taking comfort in their victory.

"For the equality of rights, against homophobia, marriage for everyone," tweeted the mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe before a pro-marriage equality march on Sunday. He posted a photo taken at the march: a banner saying "our families are more beautiful than your hatred".

The latest polls showed majority support for the right to gay marriage, though majority opposition to adoption by gay couples. The socialists are still in power in the National Assembly, and the bill passed easily.

The government predicts the first gay marriage ceremonies will take place in June, with several mayors already jockeying to claim their office will host the first.

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