France's National Assembly has voted in favor of an amendment removing the terms mother and father from forms in the nation's schools, instead using the terms "parent 1" and "parent 2."
The amendment, which passed into law alongside a new school bill Tuesday, has been seen by France's majority La République en Marche Party (LREM) as a necessary step to bring France's schools into line with the European nation's 2013 same-sex marriage law.
While the LREM, the centrist party founded by sitting French President Emmanuel Macron, has heralded the amendment to the School of Trust Bill, conservative parties have dismissed the development as a danger to society.
"The amendment aims to anchor into law the family diversity of children in the administrative forms submitted in school," LREM lawmaker Valérie Petit said, according to the French outlet 20 Minutes.
Rodrigo Arenas, co-chair of Fédération des Conseils de Parents d'Élèves (FCPEP), the country's largest federation of parents, called the amendment a "very good thing." He explained that the bill now "takes into account changing family situations" and "resonates with the law passed on the fight against harassment, because often in situations of child harassment, children have been targeted for not conforming."
According to France's Le Figaro newspaper, Xavier Breton, a conservative deputy for the country's Les Républicains (LR), denounced the law as frightening, saying it was a result of "politically correct thinking that did not correspond to reality." He also contended that while his view might be considered outmoded by his opponents, 95 percent of legal unions in France were comprised of male-female couples.
Eric Ciotti, another rightwing lawmaker, called the law a "fantasy." He added that he felt the "negotiation of gender" would "deconstruct the balance of society."
The prospect of introducing the terms "parent 1" and "parent 2" on forms in schools in France first emerged during the debate surrounding France's same-sex marriage law, the Marriage for All Law, passed in 2013. However, the amendment was kicked into the long grass, to the extent that Macron's own education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, had opposed it on the grounds that it was not suitable for national legislation.
France's main far-right party, which progressed to the second round of the country's 2017 presidential elections, has voiced its disdain for the amendment. The head of the Rassemblement National (RN) said "the mask had fallen" from the face of the LREM, claiming they were showing their contempt for the family.
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