Caroline Mécary

Biography

Born in Paris on 16 April 1963 to Christiane Roux, a painter from a cultured family of Saint-Etienne and Boulos El Mekari, a Maronite Christian who worked as the executive director of a computer company. He acquired his French nationality in 1968. She unfortunately lost her father at the age of 13.

Professional career

Having completed law school in Nanterre, Caroline Mécary took up a job at Télédiffusion de France for one year (1988–1989). She then went on to take the bar in Paris, becoming a barrister in 1991. While she specialized in copyrights for writers and artists, she also taught media law at Sorbonne University of Paris I and Paris XII during 1994-1997. In 1993, she established her own law firm. She is a member of the French union of lawyers and was also a member of the Bar association of Paris from 2005 until 2007.

Since 1993, she has been a member of GISTI (groupe d'information et de soutien des immigrés), an association which defends the human rights of immigrants.

Gay marriage

Caroline Mécary has been in favour of marriage of same-sex couples since 1998. In 2004, Noël Mamère, the mayor of Bègles in the suburbs of Bordeaux, disobeyed French law and conducted the first gay marriage as an act of defiance. The Mayor and the gay couple were subsequently sued; Caroline Mécary defended them. The marriage was annulled despite their efforts but they managed to successfully raise the question of gay marriage. In 2010, along with SOS Homophobie and APGL (Association des parents et futurs parents gays et lesbiens) she represented a lesbian couple before the French constitutional court (which decides if any law is constitutional and in conformity with French law). The couple wished to get married, but under French law they had no legal right to marriage. Their appeal was rejected on 28 January 2011, and the court pointed out that only the French Assembly could rewrite or change the law. Once again, this particular case raised awareness regarding the lack of equality when it came to gay couples.

Overseas adoption and recognition of adoption on French territory

In July 2010, a bi-national lesbian couple (French-American) was represented by Caroline Mécary because their child had been conceived through artificial insemination in the U.S., and under American law, the French partner had adopted the child. However, the French partner was not recognized as the legal parent under French law. After a long legal battle, she won the test case for all gay parents who have children overseas. In February 2011 she won a similar case, this time of a gay couple who had adopted their children under British and Canadian law. However, since they were not married it challenged a 1966 law which allowed joint legal adoption only by married couples

Political commitments

In 2008, Caroline Mécary was elected as the president of the Copernic Foundation, a left-wing think tank. Since 2011 she has co-chaired the Foundation with Pierre Khalfa. In March 2010, she stood for election and was elected to the regional council of the greater Paris area. She is a permanent member of the council and in charge of the commissions on Environment, Agriculture and Energy, youth, Metropolitan policy and security. As an elected member of the Greater Paris area, she is also a member of the association which manages regional funds for contemporary and modern art. In 2012, she endorsed Anne Hidalgo's candidacy for Mayor of Paris.

Books