France's lower house of parliament on Tuesday approved a sweeping bill to legalize gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children, handing a major legislative victory to President Francois Hollande's Socialists on a divisive social issue. The measure, approved in the National Assembly in a 329-to-229 vote, puts France on track to join about a dozen mostly European nations that allow gay marriage and comes despite a string of recent demonstrations by opponents of the so-called "marriage for all" bill. Polls show most French support legalizing gay marriage, though that backing softens when questions about the adoption and conception of children come into play. The Assembly has been debating the bill, and voting on its individual articles in recent weeks.