SACRE BLUE!

France’s Best-Laid Gay Marriage Plan Goes Awry

Despite campaigning on a promise to legalize same-sex marriage, French President Francois Hollande is facing increased resistance to the idea now that he’s in office.

The government is expected to share it’s draft of a “marriage-for-all” law this Wednesday, and then send it to the National Assembly for debate in January with the hope of passing it by June 2013.

Nationally, the French still support the idea of marriage equality but by a smaller margin—and less so in conservative rural areas.  Support from within Hollande’s own party is declining, and vocal opposition from religious leaders, small-town politicians and cultural conservatives is on the uptick.

Francois Lebel, a district mayor of Paris, stated that legalizing gay marriage would lead to polygamy, incest and pedophilia. (Guess NOM has been translating its handbook into français.)

The Socialists main opposition party, the UMP, is also against opening marriage to same-sex couples—one politician with an eye to the presidency, Francois Fillon, said he’d reverse the law if elected. (France has had civil unions for hetero and homosexual couples since 1999.)

The question of marriage equality has also raised the issue of gay parenting: Once, the French supported gay adoption by more than 50%—now that number has slipped to less than half. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has campaigned against legislation to allow gay couples access to in vitro fertilization. And last week, a group calling itself Alliance Vita held demonstrations in cities throughout France, with participants engaging in flash-mob-style performances to attack children raised in gay households.

Actually, one look at Alliance Vita’s little hate-in could make a person reconsider an anti-equality stance. Check it out below.

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated