A court in Rennes has ruled that a transsexual woman can now be officially recognised as female – but her new gender cannot appear on her marriage certificate.

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Chloé Avrillon, born Wilfrid, who underwent gender reassignment surgery at the end 2011, was denied the right to be officially recognised as a woman by the state in December last year.

But yesterday a court overruled the decision, saying official documents must recognise she was formerly a man, but is now a woman and only known by the name of Chloé.

Chloé’s 13-year marriage to Marie, with whom she has three children of eight, 12 and 15, will also remain legal, but Chloé’s new sex will not be mentioned on the marriage certificate.

As same-sex marriage is not yet legal in France, she will remain a man on the certificate so the marriage is still heterosexual and valid.

Despite this technicality, both Chloé and her wife Marie define their relationship is lesbian.

“Marie has always been gay, but as is happens she fell in love with a sophisticated and effeminate boy... and that boy was me,” she said in an interview last year.

After the court’s judgement last year, Chloé and Marie feared they would have to divorce simply as a technicality, potentially ruining their family life.

“Why should we have to divorce? Why not just develop the law? Life for transsexuals, socially and medically, is hard, and marriage offers better protection than a civil union,” Chloé said to paper 20 minutes.