Tag: france

France: Tens of thousands protest in Paris and Lyon against ‘family phobic’ equal marriage

Tens of thousands of protesters were reported to have marched in Paris and Lyon on Sunday against the French government’s legalisation of same-sex marriage. According to AFP, protesters accused French President Francois Hollande’s government of “family phobia” following new laws easing abortion restrictions and legalising equal marriage. Police reported that around 80,000 people had taken… Read more »

Nude men take the spotlight in Paris art exhibit

‘It’s male beauty in all its glory’ said Musée d’Orsay curator of the exhibit that explores pain, temptation, desire and idealization through two centuries’ worth of naked men The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has launched an exhibition title Masculin/Masculin focusing on the male nude. The naked male is ‘no longer possible to ignore,’ said president… Read more »

Gay marriage reveals surprise contrast between ‘starchy’ Britain and ‘freewheeling’ France

London — The French like to make fun of the British, joking about their repressed ways in matters of the heart. But when it came time to debate same-sex marriage, it was France that betrayed a deep conservative streak in sometimes violent protests — while the British showed themselves to be modern and tolerant. With… Read more »

Over 15 million banned from gay marriage in France

LGBT people from 10 countries, who could potentially travel to France to get married, would be barred from doing so Over 15 million LGBT people are banned from same-sex marriage in France, it was revealed today (2 July). France has signed agreements with several countries saying any ex-patriots would be banned from marrying under the… Read more »

Activists celebrate France’s first gay wedding amid mass protests

Two French activists exchanged vows Wednesday in what was apparently the first gay wedding under the country’s new law legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption. Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau were married in Montpellier, a city in southern France with a large gay community. Autin and Boileau had told Agence France-Presse that theirs would be a… Read more »

French lesbian love story wins top prize at Cannes

An intimate lesbian love story by French director Abdellatif Kechiche won the top prize in Cannes on Sunday, and the film festival’s director immediately urged the large crowds protesting against gay marriage in Paris to go and see it. Cannes(Reuters) – “La Vie d’Adele – Chapitre 1 & 2” (Blue is the Warmest Colour) was… Read more »

Gay Marriage Opponents Stage Paris March Days Before Law’s Start

With only days before a gay marriage law is set to take effect in France, thousands poured into the streets of Paris on Sunday to demand its repeal. The legislation, which takes effect on Wednesday, makes France the 14th nation to legalize such unions. An estimated 150,000 protestors gathered at the historic Esplanade des Invalides,… Read more »

France gay marriage: Hollande signs bill into law

France’s president has signed into law a controversial bill making the country the ninth in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalise gay marriage. On Friday, the Constitutional Council rejected a challenge by the right-wing opposition, clearing the way for Francois Hollande to sign the bill. He said: “I have taken [the decision]; now it is… Read more »

French Police Arrest More Than 100 As Gay Marriage Protests Continue

French police have arrested more than 100 activists as protests against a bill legalizing marriage and adoption for gay couples enters its final phase. The measure has already been approved in the French parliament’s upper and lower houses. A final vote in the National Assembly is planned for Tuesday and is considered a formality. Opponents,… Read more »

Why gay marriage polarised France

Paris — Gay marriage may have passed with barely hitch in many countries, but it has kicked up a huge storm in France, a country often seen as the champion of secularism and notoriously relaxed on issues pertaining to private life. Smelling blood after a bruising first year for President Francois Hollande, right-wing leaders have… Read more »

Violence grows as gay marriage bill divides France

Rise in homophobia worries Paris’s gay community as protesters against Hollande’s proposed reform take to streets on Saturday A large American wartime poster proclaiming “We can do it” hangs behind the bar at Les Souffleurs, a fashionable bar in the Marais, the traditionally Jewish, but now gay, quarter of Paris. The barman admits business is… Read more »

Thousands March In Paris For Gay Marriage

Thousands of activists are marching through the streets of Paris on Sunday in a show of support for the government’s plans to make France the 12th and most influential nation so far to legalize gay marriage. Demonstrators carried banners with phrases such as “Equality of rights is not a threat” as they kicked off their… Read more »

Protest against gay marriage: Huge crowds expected in Paris

Paris – Several hundred thousand people are expected to march through Paris on Sunday against the planned legalization of same-sex marriage in the first mass protest against the unpopular President Francois Hollande. Strongly backed by the Catholic hierarchy, lay activists have mobilized a hybrid coalition of church-going families, political conservatives, Muslims, evangelicals and even homosexuals… Read more »

Landmark Ruling: Human Right Court Rules Religious Beliefs Do Not Trump LGBT Rights

In an historic, landmark decision the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that an individual’s religious beliefs do not trump the rights of an LGBT person and may not be used to discriminate against them. The Court, in Strasbourg, France, examined four cases brought by Christians from the UK, two of which related to… Read more »

Poll: Strong support across Europe for equal marriage and adoption – but France divided

A majority of people in several European countries believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married and adopt children, but in France the public is divided, according to YouGov. It’s latest poll shows a slim majority of French people (51%) are against allowing gay couples to adopt. The findings come ahead of an… Read more »

Muslims urged to march against gay marriage in France

Muslims join Catholics in fight against President François Hollande’s ‘Marriage for All’ law French Muslims have joined Catholics in protesting the country’s plans to legalize gay marriage and adoption. An open letter signed by 50 Muslim activists calls on religious followers to join a march against the law in France’s capital Paris on Sunday (13… Read more »

Tens of thousands march for gay marriage in France

Demonstrators in cities across France, including Paris, call on the government to pass equal marriage bill Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of France to call for gay marriage to be legalized. Around 150,000 people joined the ‘demonstration for equality’ in Paris’s Place de la Bastille yesterday (16 December), urging the government… Read more »

Paris gay-friendly mosque denounced by Islamic leaders

Islamic leaders in Paris are condemning the opening of what’s been described as Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque. Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grande Mosqueé in Paris, told France 24 that the mosque goes against the rules of Islam. He said: “Worshippers go to a mosque to worship god, they don’t go to demonstrate their sexuality”.… Read more »

France: ‘Mosque for gays’ with mixed prayer groups to be opened in Paris

A mosque aimed specifically at gay people, and which would provide mixed gender prayer groups, is set to open in Paris at the end of November. Mohammed Ludovic Lütfi Zahed, a gay muslim, plans to open his mosque in the hall of a Buddhist chapel on 30 November, in which men and women will be… Read more »

France: Thousands rally for equal marriage and adoption rights

Thousands of demonstrators turned up to rally at the National Assembly in Paris on Wednesday evening to show support for equal marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. Earlier in the day, French President Francois Hollande’s government approved a bill to legalise equal marriage and allow gay couples to adopt. Demonstrators chanted “equality now” to… Read more »