While mass demonstrations greeted the authorization of gay marriage in France in mid-2013, between that point and 2017, around 40,000 same sex couples have been officiated, new statistics show.

Proponents of gay marriage are hopeful following new marriage statistics released by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies Tuesday. The data for 2017 shows that 7,244 same sex marriages were officiated during the year.

On Twitter, one user expressed hope for a day when gay marriage would become so naturalized it would no longer even put in a separate category.

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Despite the fact that the total of number of marriages decreased fairly dramatically in the 20-year period leading up to 2017, the number of homosexual unions has been slowly but steadily increasing. This indicates a demographic trend which coincides with a depleting population growth rate in France several years running.

Some skeptics, however, suggest waiting until the numbers come in on the related divorce rates before making conclusions. This is something worth considering in a country where over half of the marriages end in divorce, according to statistics from 2016.

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While less than one percent of France’s marriages were between same sex couples, the numbers are surprising given the country’s intense reaction to the gay marriage law passed in May of 2013. Nearly 400,000 people took the streets of Paris to oppose the initial ruling in protests which eventually turned to violence as far-right demonstrators fought with police in the heart of the capital.

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