"I need a papa and a mama!"
On Sunday afternoon, H came back from the gym and said, "That manif against gay marriage is taking up the whole avenue!" I could hear shouting and chants and went out on the balcony to look down the street. At the end of the block was a sea of blue flags and people. It was a mass demonstration against the projet de loi called "marriage for all," which is being voted on January 29th. It is likely to pass, legalizing gay marriage in France. A Catholic who calls herself Frigide Barjot was the main organizer for this huge protest, which wound up on the Champs de Mars under the Eiffel Tower. She claims not to be homophobic but rather "marriage-ophile" and there were quite a few signs saying that. Other signs said, "One papa, one mama = one baby," "We want sex, not gender!" (huh?) "Two papas? Two mamas? Where are the limits?" or "Don't lie to children. They all have one father and one mother." It seems many of the demonstrators are offended by the idea of gay parents. It made me wonder if they've ever met any.
Estimates of the size of the crowd ran from 340,000 (the police) to 800,000 (the media) to one million (the organizers). Judging by the fact that the marchers took several hours to pass our corner, and that what we saw was only one of four different routes to the Champs de Mars, I would guess half a million. A counter-demonstration in favor of the "marriage for all" law is to take place on Sunday, 27 January. I wonder how big it will be. (Sorry for low-quality video. I haven't got the hang of it yet.)
