FRENCH MAYOR SUSPENDED FOR SSM: From 365Gay.com

[There's a really good piece on French attitudes toward SSM here. --Eve]

The mayor of a small village near Bordeaux was suspended from office Tuesday for one month after performing a wedding ceremony for a gay couple.

Noel Mamere, the mayor of Begles and a leading member of the Green Party in the French Parliament, was informed this morning that he was not permitted inside the town hall for 30 days, could make no legal decisions involving the town, or in any way participate in the political life of Begles.

The decision to suspend Mamere was made by Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin and was based on a law allowing the suspension of mayors who "gravely misunderstand their duties".

Mayors in France conduct civil marriages, the only ones with legal standing. However, they do so under the authority of the state prosecutor.

"The mayor of Begles was, therefore, required to respect the instructions addressed to him by the prosecutor" -- to call the marriage off, de Villepin said in a statement.

"When he exercises the functions of officer of the civil state, the mayor acts in the name of the state and not of the town," the statement said.

In addition, Mamere faces a fine of up to nearly $2,000 and could still be removed from office permanently. The French government is continuing to investigate his role in solemnizing the marriage. During the ceremony he wore the blue, white and red sash of the French Republic.

Bertrand Charpentier and Stephane Chapin were married by Mamere June 5 in the town hall as television cameras recorded the event.

Prosecutor Bertrand de Loze has since moved ahead to get the marriage annulled.

Charpentier and Chapin have vowed that if their marriage is voided they will go to the European Court of Human Rights.

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posted by Eve at 5:05 PM VOTE

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