FRANCE: Thousands have turned out in central Paris to march in support of same-sex marriage in France

Record ID: 277765

  • Title: FRANCE: Thousands have turned out in central Paris to march in support of same-sex marriage in France
  • Date: 27th January 2013
  • Summary: POSTER READING IN FRENCH "FOR OUR 300,000 CHILDREN: COURAGE IN OUR PARLIAMENT." (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRO GAY-MARRIAGE DEMONSTRATOR JEAN-SEBASTIEN DESROC SAYING: "We are simply here for equal rights, to obtain the right of marriage for homosexual couples. My partner isn't recognised in the eyes of the law and if I need to be away from Loi (his daughter) and something happe
  • Embargoed: 11th February 2013 12:00
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  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3EMD6WA4UDGF9XSY06Q0FZM0A
  • Story Text: Thousands demonstrated in Paris on Sunday (January 27) in support of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage in France.
    The march came two weeks after a large demonstration in the French capital against plans by the government to allow two people of the same sex to get married.
    Members of the French parliament are due to start examining and debating the bill early next week.
    Celebrities and politicians were among those present to show support for the bill.
    Many countries around the world have already legalised same-sex marriage and for some, such as France's former socialist education minister Jack Lang, the change in the law should have come earlier than now.

    "We could have been among the first countries but we are late because many political people are frightened by their own shadow."

    "It is a struggle for the life, struggle for the liberty," added Pierre Berge, the former companion of French fashion icon Yves Saint-Laurent.
    Two weeks ago, several hundred thousand people massed at the Eiffel Tower in Paris to protest against President Francois Hollande's plan to legalize gay marriage and adoption by June.
    Former French international football player Lilian Thuram, who was also part of the march, argued the battle to legalise same-sex marriage was an example of where equal rights remained a struggle.

    "Historically, we've always had people against the rights of others," Thuram told Reuters Television.

    "There were protests when we wanted to give the women right to vote, some were in favour and others were against it. So I hope that today, equality of rights will prevail."
    A recent poll by international marketing firm Ifop for news website Atlantico.fr showed the number of people who support the legalization of same-sex marriage in France has risen despite the protest against the government's planned reforms earlier this month.
    The proportion of those surveyed supporting the change in the law rose to 63 percent from 60 percent in early January and December.
    Support for adoption rights for gay couples also rose by three percent, although the country remains divided on the issue, with 49 percent in favor.
    The French government underlined its determination to press ahead with a reform bill earlier this month even after roughly half a million people marched through Paris on January 13 to show their opposition to the proposal.
    In the crowd on Sunday (January 27), two-year-old Loi was marching with her two fathers.
    Jean-Sebastien Desroc, Loi's biological father, said a law recognising same-sex marriage would help protect thousands of children who live with two fathers or two mothers.

    "My partner isn't recognised in the eyes of the law and if I need to be away from Loi (his daughter) and something happens to her while I'm away, my partner doesn't have the rightful authorisation, as far as the law is concerned, to sign documents which could be vital," Desroc said.
    Same-sex weddings are legal in 11 countries including Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Norway and South Africa, as well as nine U.S. states and Washington D.C.
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