Lesbians in France are now unequivocally free to adopt children. Maybe there is still justice in this world. Thank you, ECHR, for giving me a flicker of hope. Not that I reside in France, or anywhere near Europe, but this is nonetheless a victory for all of us. Gaia bless the country that gave us Amelie and 8 Femme (Eight Women). Here’s what I read in the papers today:

STRASBOURG — The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that France had discriminated against a lesbian nursery school teacher by refusing to allow her to adopt a child.

The plaintiff, who is protected with anonymity under the initials E.B., is 45 years old and has been living since 1990 with a woman psychologist in the eastern Jura region.

In 1998, her adoption application was turned down by authorities on the grounds the child would suffer from the absence of a paternal figure and that the role of her partner was unclear.

She took her case to the European rights court in 2002 after France’s high court of appeal ruled she had been turned down because of her “lifestyle choice,” not her homosexuality.

Considering that French law allows single people to adopt, the judges of the court’s Grand Chamber ruled by 10 votes to seven that she received different treatment because of her sexual orientation.

It found that “the influence of her homosexuality on the assessment of her application had not only been established but had also been a decisive factor” in the failure of her application.

The court ruled that she had suffered discrimination as well as a violation of her right to a private life, under the European Convention of Human Rights, awarding her 10,000 euros ($14,500) in moral damages.

The decision obliges France to take steps to prevent such discrimination in future, and could have consequences for other single homosexuals, or homosexual couples, in Europe who want to adopt.

*claps* *claps* *claps*

And while we’re in the subject of France, who else here is miffed that the beautiful and intelligent Segolene Royale didn’t win as French president? That would have been monumental. Instead, we got the tabloid-hogging Nicolas Sarkozy. *sigh* Imagine, Germany with Angela Merkel and France with Royale - together they would have comprised 1/4 of the whole G8. I’d love to break down that old boys club.

Here’s hoping Hilary Clinton can score a coup.