Police fought running battles with protesters in central Paris last night after the French parliament approved legislation authorising same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children.

The vote, which made France the fourteenth country in the world to legalise gay marriage, was hailed by supporters as an epoch-defining commitment to equality. But it sparked fury among opponents.

As protest marches turned violent, stones, bottles and iron bars rained down on riot police units brought in to protect parliament. They replied by firing teargas at the demonstrators.

Police charged several times in a bid to clear protesters from Les Invalides in Paris, but they moved on to the banks of the Seine, where there were more clashes. There were also violent incidents in Lyon, in central