video transcript

Since getting married in Canada two years ago, gay couple Pierre Rouff and Serge Falcou have been fighting to have their union recognised in their native France -- without success. But things may be about to change for the pair with a promise from President Francois Hollande's Socialist government to reform marriage law. The proposals would see France become the twelfth country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage and are set to be discussed by the country's cabinet on Wednesday. Parisian Rouff says gay couples should not be treated any differently to heterosexuals. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BUSINESSMAN PIERRE ROUFF SAYING: "We are not against heterosexual families, we just are gay and wanted, like every heterosexual people, wanted to raise a family. I mean that's very fair." France legalised gender-neutral civil unions in 1999, but they do not offer the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. Hollande's plans to change the law have met with stiff opposition from religious leaders and family groups as public approval for gay marriage dips below 60 percent. Tugdual Derville is the director of the Alliance Vita association, a French family association opposed to gay marriage. He says that marriage is not about love but about families, and that children raised by single-sex couples are missing out on a normal childhood.