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| "Article 1 passed - Equality Moves Forward" reads a banner at a counter-protest during an anti-equality demonstration, Saturday in Bordeaux. Source: AFP |
Since the debate began, the vast majority of those against the bill have been asking for a referendum. Therefore, it came as no surprise that the largest right-wing party, the UMP, along with its fellow right-wingers, suggested a motion calling for one. The motion, defended by UMP Deputy Christian Jacob, was quickly shot down in flames by the opposition, with only 184 for and 298 against.
Then there was Amendment 2 which, if passed, would have stopped the discussion dead on Friday and scrapped the bill altogether. This was also swept away with only 85 for and 183 against.
The Amendments being killed off one by one by the left-wing majority, the right has only one card left to play when it comes to voting the articles - playing the age-old game of "filibuster-à-la-française". The right seems very preoccupied by Medically Assisted Procreation (MAP) and surrogacy, neither of which feature in the bill. They seem to be wasting time in the National Assembly, a move the press has picked up on. Minister Taubira has repeatedly had to remind the right countless times that MAP and surrogacy don't make up a part of the bill, but to no avail as MAP was mentioned 527 times and surrogacy 365 times last weekend alone. Luckily, the left wins out again as "marriage" was discussed twice as much as either of those terms.
Article 1 was passed on Saturday morning at around 11:30 am, but didn't deter the bill's opponents from taking to the streets in what supporters called a nationwide "homophobe-athon" or "homophobe pride". However, the opponents were significantly less than at previous rallies, and counter-protests by equality activists were carried out in every city and town around the country. In Bordeaux, the LGBTQIA youth activism association, Glimpy, carried out a counter-protest from a balcony above a square filled with 1,000 equality opponents only to witness their supporters below being pushed to the ground by the rally's own security, to be insulted by the protesters, and finally forced back indoors by a barrage of eggs. Despite this, a spokesperson for the opposition movement maintained that they are "not homophobic" and that their demonstration was "pacific". You can see Glimpy's movement below.
In France the debate is heated not just because of the usual "sanctity of marriage crap" (to quote Clint Eastwood), but because above the door of every town hall in every hamlet, village, town, and city, are inscribed the words "Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood" (Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité). The right and the bill's opponents are also arguing that adoption rights for same-sex couples will produce "unbalanced children"... just like what happened in Canada and all the other places where adoption equality is law. They argue this is because children need both a father and a mother to be balanced. The lack of either of these would cause them to be disillusioned and... you guessed it, "unbalanced", just the way children from single-parent households are! Some even go as far as to say divorce should be illegal, and when arguing a child needs both parents, very sexist "studies" and documentaries are used as sources of "concrete information", along with research conducted by homophobic "experts".
I'll be keeping you all up to date with how the bill is moving along. It seems the news of Article 1 only reached the English-speaking world on Monday night, follow me on Twitter and you'll get it as-it-happens! The button is below in my bio section. In the meantime, if you understand French you can watch the debate live from the National Assembly who didn't sleep on Monday night at all.
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