Tens of thousands of people on Saturday
marched in cities across France to protest a proposal to legalize gay
marriage.
Demonstrators took to the streets of
Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other major towns and cities in protests
supported by the Roman Catholic Church, the AP reported.
The Socialist government of Francois
Hollande earlier this month sent a proposed plan to legalize marriage
and adoption for gay couples to lawmakers for debate. The National
Assembly is expected to start examining the legislation in January,
and a vote could come by mid-2013.
Protesters carried signs which read
“one father + one mother for all children” and “don't touch
civil marriage” as they marched through the streets of Paris
towards the Invalides monument, Napeoleon Bonaparte's final resting
place. Bonaparte enacted France's current civil code, which defines
marriage as a heterosexual union.
Police estimated 70,000 people took
part in the Paris demonstration. Organizers put the figure at
200,000. Police said 5,000 marched in Toulouse. Organizers said
there were 10,000.
(Related: Pope
Benedict XVI calls on the French Church to fight gay marriage.)