Crowds estimated in the tens of
thousands gathered Sunday in Paris and Lyon to protest against gay
rights, including France's recently approved gay marriage law.
The protest was led by Manif Pour
Tous (Protest for All),
the nation's leading opponent of marriage equality.
While the Socialist government of
President Francois Hollande has dismissed reports that it plans to
introduce legislation granting gay couples access to medically
assisted procreation (MAP) and in vitro fertilization (IVF),
organizers said they wanted to send a clear message of opposition.
RT
quoted Ludovine de al Rochere, the group's leader, as saying that
the protests were designed to “warn the government as early as
possible of our opposition to offering MAP to female couples and of
IVF, because a child needs a father and a mother.”
FRANCE
24 reported that protesters were also angry about a school pilot
program aimed at breaking down gender stereotypes.
“Education should be about teaching
children skills so that they can get jobs,” Samir Diss of the
Muslims for Childhood group told FRANCE 24. “Sex education is not
going to get them into work. Sexuality is a subject that I will
raise in front of my children when I see fit. I don't want my
children to go to school to learn about touching each other.”
Last week, several thousand people
marched through Paris protesting the policies of President Hollande's
administration, including last year's legalization of same-sex
marriage.