Illustration - ed.
A French citizen who changed sex to become a woman but stayed with her wife of 15 years and their children is seeking legal recognition for her altered status, in a case that could reopen debate over France’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Wilfrid Avrillon, a 41-year-old computer engineer, became Chloe Avrillon after a sex switch operation five years ago and still lives with wife Marie-Jeanne, a lesbian, and their three children in the west of France.
Avrillon presented her case to court officials in a closed-door hearing yesterday and is now waiting for a ruling in mid-December, her lawyer said.
“We’ve been waiting for years for recognition of families like ours, which may be atypical but work well,” Chloe Avrillon told reporters.
France’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriages was upheld by the country’s highest constitutional authority last January in a case brought by two women.
Avrillon’s case is different to the extent that the wedding preceded the sex change.
