Frenchman Marries Stepmother. Father Attends Ceremony

A Frenchman has married his stepmother, after a legal battle that lasted for months.

The wedding of Eric Holder, 45, and his father's former wife Elisabeth Lorentz, 48, took place in the north-eastern village of Dabo, near the city of Metz, in northeastern France.

Mr Holder's father attended the ceremony, in which his ex-wife became his daughter-in-law.

Under French law, marriages between stepchildren and stepparents are banned, however a judge ruled in favour of the couple.

The couple had battled for months for the right to marry, even taking their appeal to the office of president Francoise Hollande, which confirmed that the marriage was legally prohibited.

The prosecutor's office, which opposed the marriage, did not appeal the decision by the local court in the Lorraine region allowing the ceremony to go ahead.

After the local court's decision, Ms Lorentz said: "At last, it's the big day!"

"I simply hope that our story will be useful other couples in our situation, because I know there are some," she told AFP news agency.

She added that her former husband had always supported the couple in the legal battle.