Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in France are some of the most progressive by world standards. Although same-sex sexual activity was a capital crime that often resulted in the death penalty during the , all sodomy laws were repealed in 1791 during the French Revolution. However, a lesser-known indecent exposure law that often targeted LGBTQ people was introduced in 1960, before being repealed in 1980.

The age of consent for same-sex sexual activity was altered more than once before being equalised in 1982 under President François Mitterrand. After granting same-sex couples domestic partnership benefits known as the civil solidarity pact in 1999, France became the thirteenth country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage in 2013. Laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity were enacted in 1985 and 2012, respectively. In 2010, France became the first country in the world to declassify gender dysphoria as a mental illness. Additionally, since 2017, transgender people have been allowed to change their legal gender without undergoing surgery or receiving any medical diagnosis.

France has frequently been named one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world. Recent polls have indicated that a majority of the French people support same-sex marriage and in 2013, another poll indicated that 77% of the French population believed homosexuality should be accepted by society, one of the highest in the 39 countries polled. During his tenure (January to September 2024), Gabriel Attal, the country's prime minister from January to September 2024, was one of the few openly gay heads of government in the world. Paris has been named by many publications as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, with a thriving LGBTQ community and nightlife in Le Marais, Quartier Pigalle and Bois de Boulogne.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Sodomy laws Before the French Revolution, sodomy was a serious crime. Same-sex sexual acts resulted in castration on the first offense, dismemberment on the second, and burning on the third. Lesbian behavior was punished with specific mutilations for the first two offenses and burning on the third as well. Jean Diot and Bruno Lenoir were the last gay people burned to death on 6 July 1750. The first French Revolution decriminalised homosexuality when the Penal Code of 1791 made no mention of same-sex relations in private. This policy on private sexual conduct was retained in the Penal Code of 1810 and followed in nations and French colonies that adopted the Code. Still, homosexuality and cross-dressing were widely seen as being immoral, and LGBTQ people were still subjected to legal harassment under various laws concerning public morality and order. Some LGBTQ people from the regions of Alsace and Lorraine, which were annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, were persecuted and interned in concentration camps. LGBTQ people were also persecuted under the Vichy Regime, despite there being no laws criminalizing homosexuality.

Higher age of consent An age of consent was introduced on 28 April 1832. It was fixed to 11 years for both sexes and later raised to 13 years in 1863. On 6 August 1942, the Vichy Government introduced a discriminative law in the Penal Code: article 334 (moved to article 331 on 8 February 1945 by the Provisional Government of the French Republic)Ordonnance 45–190 which increased the age of consent to 21 for homosexual relations and 15 for heterosexual ones. The age of 21 was then lowered to 18 in 1974, which had become the age of legal majority. This law remained valid until 4 August 1982, when it was repealed under President François Mitterrand to equalise the age of consent at 15 years of age, despite the vocal opposition of Jean Foyer in the French National Assembly.Proceedings of the National assembly, 2nd sitting of 20 December 1981

Indecent exposure A less known discriminative law was adopted in 1960, inserting into the Penal Code (article 330, 2nd alinea) a clause that doubled the penalty for indecent exposure for homosexual activity. This ordonnance was intended to repress pimping. The clause against homosexuality was adopted due to a wish of Parliament, as follows:

This ordonnance was adopted by the executive after it was authorised by Parliament to take legislative measures against national scourges such as alcoholism. Paul Mirguet, a Member of the National Assembly, felt that homosexuality was also a scourge, and thus proposed a sub-amendment, therefore known as the Mirguet amendment, tasking the Government to enact measures against homosexuality, which was adopted.

Article 330 alinea 2 was repealed in 1980 as part of an act redefining several sexual offenses.

Compensation and Article 330 In March 2024, the French National Assembly (lower house) unanimously passed a bill to victims for "compensation regarding the gay men arrested under Article 330 prior to 1980". The French Senate (upper house) is yet to vote on the bill.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Civil solidarity pacts (PACS for ), a form of registered domestic partnerships, were enacted in 1999 for both same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples by the Government of Lionel Jospin. Couples who enter into a PACS contract are afforded most of the legal protections, rights, and responsibilities of marriage. The right to adoption and artificial insemination are, however, denied to PACS partners (and are largely restricted to married couples). Unlike married couples, they were originally not allowed to file joint tax returns until after three years, though this was changed in 2005.

On 14 June 2011, the National Assembly of France voted 293–222 against legalising same-sex marriage. Deputies of the majority party Union for a Popular Movement voted mostly against the measure, while deputies of the Socialist Party mostly voted in favor. Members of the Socialist Party stated that legalisation of same-sex marriage would become a priority should they gain a majority in the 2012 elections.

On 7 May 2012, François Hollande won the election, and the Socialist Party and its coalition partners, Miscellaneous Left, Europe Ecology - The Greens and Radical Party of the Left, won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. In October, a marriage bill was introduced by the Aryault Government. On 2 February 2013, the National Assembly approved the first article of the bill, by 249 votes against 97. On 12 February 2013, the National Assembly approved the bill as a whole in a 329–229 vote and sent it to the country's Senate. The majority of the ruling Socialist Party voted in favor of the bill (only four of its members voted "no") while the majority of the opposition party UMP voted against it (only two of its members voted "yes").

On 4 April 2013, the Senate started the debate on the bill and five days later approved its first article in a 179–157 vote. On 12 April, the Senate approved the bill with minor amendments, which were accepted by the National Assembly on 23 April.French parliament allows gay marriage despite protests Reuters, 23 April 2013

A challenge to the law by the conservative UMP party was filed with the Constitutional Council following the vote. On 17 May 2013, the Council ruled that the law is constitutional.Communiqué de presse – 2013-669 DC – Loi ouvrant le mariage aux couples de personnes de même sexe, Constitutional Council of France, retrieved on 17 May 2013 On 18 May 2013, President Francois Hollande signed the bill into law, which was officially published the next day in the Journal Officiel. The first official same-sex ceremony took place on 29 May in the city of Montpellier.

Adoption and family planning Same-sex couples have been legally able to adopt children since May 2013, when the same-sex marriage law took effect. The first joint adoption by a same-sex couple was announced on 18 October 2013.

In April 2018, the Association of Gay and Lesbian Parents reported that only four same-sex couples had been able to jointly adopt a child, and the Association of LGBT Families (ADFH) reported that "some families" were able to foster a French child and "less than ten" families were able to foster a foreign child. Between May 2013 and May 2019, 10 same-sex adoptions occurred in Paris.

Lesbian couples used to not have access to assisted reproductive technology (procréation médicalement assistée, PMA), as it would only be available to heterosexual couples. A poll in 2012 showed that 51% of the French population supported allowing lesbian couples to access it. The French Socialist Party also supports it. In June 2017, a spokesperson for French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the government intends to legislate to allow assisted reproduction for lesbian couples. This followed a report by an independent ethics panel in France which recommended that PMA law be revised to include lesbian couples and single people. In 2017, a poll indicated that 64% of the French people supported the extension of assisted reproduction to lesbian couples. In 2024, the Constitution of France was amended to include express protections for reproductive rights.

In July 2018, MP Guillaume Chiche introduced a bill to legalise assisted reproduction for lesbian couples and single women. In June 2019, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe told the National Assembly that the legislation will be examined in the Assembly from the end of September 2019. The bill was adopted in its first reading by the National Assembly on 15 October 2019 by a vote of 359–114. It passed its second reading on 31 July 2020 by 60 votes to 37 (the low turnout being due to most Assembly members having gone on summer holidays). The Senate approved the bill in first reading on 4 February 2020 by 153 votes to 143 with 45 abstentions. The proposal also foresees the state covering the cost of the assisted reproduction procedures for all women under 43 and allowing children born with donated sperm to find out their donor's identity when they reach the age of 18. The bill came into effect in September 2021.

Up until 2015, France refused to recognise surrogate children as French citizens. This left many such children in legal limbo. On 5 July 2017, the Court of Cassation ruled that a child born to a surrogate abroad can be adopted by the partner of his or her biological father. That same year, the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris granted French citizenship to twin boys born through surrogacy in Ontario, Canada, to a same-sex couple (both French citizens). However, it refused to register the children in the vital records. In May 2019, the Court of Appeal of Paris reversed certain parts of the decision, holding that the Canadian birth certificate must be recognised by the French state. In December 2019, the Court of Cassation ruled that foreign birth certificates that recognise same-sex partners must be fully recognised in France.

Discrimination protections In 1985, national legislation was enacted to prohibit sexual orientation based discrimination in employment, housing and other public and private provisions of services and goods. In July 2012, the French Parliament added "sexual identity" to the protected grounds of discrimination in French law. The phrase "sexual identity" was used synonymous with "gender identity" despite some criticism from ILGA-Europe, who nevertheless still considered it an important step. On 18 November 2016, a new law amended article 225-1 of the French Penal Code to replace "sexual identity" with "gender identity".

Chapter 2 of the Labour Code () reads as follows:

Discrimination in schools