France pledges marriage equality despite protests
France 24
France 24 Photo
France’s same-sex marriage bill will go ahead, French Justice Minister Christine Taubira said on Sunday in response to a massive rally calling for the bill to be scrapped or put to a national referendum.
Hundreds of thousands of people massed at the Eiffel Tower to protest against the Socialist government’s plan to legalise gay marriage and adoption by June.
But the government pledged not to backtrack on its promise to allow same-sex couples the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.
François Hollande’s office issued a statement saying that while
turnout at the rally was “substantial,” the president would not change
his determination to pass the reform.
“A referendum on same-sex marriage would be unconstitutional,” Justice
Minister Taubira said in an interview on national TV channel TF1. “The
constitution stipulates the circumstances when a referendum is possible;
here it is not the case. The bill will go ahead.”
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