France legalises same-sex marriage amid protests

, May 19:

has become the 14th country to legalise same-sex

. The

marriage bill has been recently legalised with the country's President Francois Hollande signing the bill into a law.

The first gay marriage is expected to take place within next two weeks.

The gay marriage bill was passed by the Parliament last month with the conservative lawmakers opposing the move. The challenge motion was rejected by the Constitutional Council.

The gay marriage law will now be published in the office journal. President Hollande, who pledged to legalise gay marriage while campaigning for his election a year ago, has promised that the law will be published at the earliest. He also said that he would not tolerate any kind of disruption against the gay marriages.

The issue of gay marriage has fuelled a debate and hundreds of protests in the country.

OneIndia News