The sponsors of this bill obviously have an unresolved Oedipal complex

Jacques Myard MP

But now parents will also be able to choose the mother's maiden name alone. Currently only unmarried mothers can do that if they manage to declare their parentage to the authorities before the father does.

France's most famous single mother - President Chirac's daughter Claude - secured the Chirac name for her son in this way.

Under the proposed law, once parents have made the choice they have to stick with it. Any subsequent brothers or sisters will have to have the same surname as the first-born child.

'Attack' on French men

If the bill is passed into law - it still needs approval from the Senate - it will bring France into line with most other European countries.

In Belgium and Italy children also bear their father's surnames but the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 1994 that this was a discriminatory practice.

The proposers of the bill in France say it will not only help equality but will also prevent French names from dying out.

The Socialist member of parliament Gerard Gouzes said it would stop "the shrinking of the stock of available names from generation to generation".

But some have been dismissive of the bill, seeing it as an attack on men's role in French society.

"The sponsors of this bill obviously have an unresolved Oedipal complex," said Jacques Myard from the right-wing RPR party.