Skip to main content
FRANCE

Top French court rules against recognising neutral gender

French official documents will not recognise a neutral gender, the country's highest appeals court ruled on Thursday, rejecting the case of a 65-year-old psychotherapist who argued they were neither a man or a woman.

Gender-neutral model Petr Nitka from the Czech Republic at a fashion show in Mumbai, India
Gender-neutral model Petr Nitka from the Czech Republic at a fashion show in Mumbai, India Sujit JAISWAL / AFP
Advertising

The court turned down an appeal by the psychotherapist, who uses the pseudonym Gaetan and won a case in Tours, eastern France, two years ago, only to lose in a regional appeals court.

On Thursday the Cour de Cassation in Paris concluded that French law does not allow judges to recognise a neutral gender.

Any judicial recognition of a sex outside the categories of male or female would have "profound repercussions on rules of French law", necessitating a slew of legislative changes, the court said.

Intersex people have characteristics such as chromosomes or sexual organs that don't clearly fit the typical definitions of male or female.

According to the United Nations, between 0.05 and 1.7 percent of the global population is intersex, about the same proportion as people who have red hair.

Sometimes this is apparent at birth, while at other times it becomes noticeable at puberty and in cases linked to chromosomes it may not be physically evident.

The court Thursday said the plaintiff has, "in the eyes of outsiders, the appearance and social behaviour of someone of the male sex".

New York last year issued the first-ever US birth certificate marked "intersex".

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.