Anti-gay marriage marches in capital

BETWEEN 100,000 to 200,000 people took part in protests against gay marriage and adoption, marching in Paris and other major cities.

Organisers of the “Manif pour tous” (protest for everyone) said the aim was to “wake up opinion and make the French take note that this law, which interrupts the link between father, mother and children, concerns everyone”.

While many of the marchers belonged to Catholic groups, the organiser of Manif pour tous, the Catholic comedian Frigide Barjot, said they had appealed to a wider base. Her co-organisers include Xavier Bongibault, 21, the gay head of Plus Gay Sans Marriage (More gay without marriage), and the left-wing writer Laurence Tcheng.

Another demonstration is planned for January 13, the day a parliamentary commission is due to begin examining the bill, although smaller ones are scheduled for December 8 in Bordeaux, Lille, Le Mans and Nancy.

Organisers, who were surprised by the size of the turnout on Saturday, predict the next march could draw up to 500,000 people.

The president of the Association Familiales Catholiques said: “If it takes two million people to stop the government's project, we will get them.”

Violence broke out during a second demonstration on Sunday, organised by the Catholic group Civitas.

The feminist group Femen had organised a counter-protest dressed as topless nuns and were attacked by Civitas supporters, who also injured a journalist.

A pro-gay marriage protest has been organised for December 16 in the capital.

The minister for social affairs, Marisol Touraine, said that there was no question of the government changing plans to allow gay couples to marry and adopt.

She said the protests were similar to those that took place when France introduced the Pacs, a civil union open to both gay and straight couples: around 100,000 people marched against the project – a law that is rarely questioned today.

Photo: La Manif pour tous