France maintained its ban on gay marriage yesterday after the constitutional court ruled that a lesbian couple with four children do not have the right to tie the knot.

The couple, a teacher and a paediatrician who have lived together for 15 years, had sought to bring France into line with EU neighbours like Spain, Belgium and Netherlands which allow same-sex couples to wed.

The ruling came as a TNS Sofres opinion poll said yesterday that 58 per cent of French people questioned were in favour of gay marriage, which is legal in ten countries around the world.

The court rejected the couple’s argument that two articles in the French civil code which state that marriage can only be between a man and a woman were unconstitutional and discriminated against homosexuals.

But it said it was up to parliament to decide if the ban should be overturned, and not the constitutional authority.

The couple, Corinne Cestino and Sophie Hasslauer, currently enjoy tax benefits and other financial advantages because they are in the legally recognised civil partnership known here by its acronym PACS.