Abstract
This article examines the development of the Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS) in France, a legal construct which provides recognition in law to a range of relationship forms, including same-sex couples. The PACS is used as a means of interrogating the continuing importance of republicanism in contemporary French political discourse. The PACS provides a microcosm of wider issues concerning citizenship, marriage, communitarianism, multiculturalism and the meaning of French national identity in the context of globalization and transnationalism. Finally, the article considers the role of republicanism in shaping the constitution of a gay identity in contemporary France, and the impact of the PACS on that identity.
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