PARIS: HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS PROTEST AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE

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Paris may be known as the ‘city of love,’ but there was little support for same-sex relationships on Sunday as around 340,000 people protested against the legalisation of gay marriage and adoption in the French capital.

The protestors, many of whom travelled to Paris from around the country for the event, waved pink and blue balloons and flags near the Eiffel Tower, with banners proclaiming that children should have a father and mother.

In July last year, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced plans to legalise same-sex marriage and gay adoption in the country.

“In the first half of 2013, the right to marriage and adoption will be open to all couples, without discrimination,” Ayrault told parliament.

Giving same-sex couples the rights to full marriage rights was part of President François Hollande’s successful election campaign, but his plans have not been welcomed by most religious leaders and right-wing political parties.

The Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, had thrown his weight behind official Vatican policy and has expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage.

The proposed bill to legalise gay marriage and adoption has been drafted and approved by the cabinet and is expected to go before parliament soon.

Under current law, same-sex couples in France can enter into civil unions, known as ‘pacte civil de solidarité’ or PACS, but not marriage.

While polls show that the majority of French people support gay marriage, the right for gays and lesbians to adopt is less widely backed.

In Europe, same-sex marriage is legal in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Watch a video report by the Actuel News Channel on Sunday’s protest below.

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