Via France24:

France's lower house of parliament Tuesday rejected a bill that would have allowed gays to marry.

The house, dominated by the ruling right-wing UMP party, voted by 293 votes to 222 to block the bill, with most left-wing lawmakers backing it and most of the right opposed.

"We are against homophobia but we do not want to alter the image and function of marriage in the collective subconscious," said UMP lawmaker Michel Diefenbacher.