Paris  - A French court ruled Tuesday that a lesbian woman could adopt a child - the first time a homosexual in France has been granted that right, French media reported.

The ruling - by a civil service tribunal in the French city of Besancon - is a victory for the 48-year-old teacher identified as Emmanuelle B, who fought an 11-year legal battle in French and European courts. T

The Besancon tribunal simply annulled two previous adoption denials handed down by the regional administration.

The Jura departmental council said it would abide by the decision, opening the way for Emmanuelle B and her companion to initiate an adoption procedure.

In January 2008, Emmanuelle B took her case to the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that France was guilty of illegal discrimination by refusing to allow her to adopt a child.

The Strasbourg court had ruled that her homosexuality had been "if not explicit, at least implicit" in the rejection of her adoption request and said France had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to judge adoption by a lesbian the same way it would a single heterosexual. (dpa)