When a million people march in support of traditional marriage, and against homosexual marriage, you know there may yet be hope for Western civilisation. And when this protest takes place in a nation known for its secularism, leftism and radicalism, then we really do have hope.
The new French government has been hell-bent on ramming homosexual marriage down the throats of everyone, whether they like it or not. But hundreds of thousands of French men, women and children are telling the government to leave marriage alone.
Late last year over 100,000 of them marched in protest, and on Sunday as many as a million marched! I discussed the December march here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/11/19/9400/
Those are terrific numbers, and it seems there is a growing tide of opposition to the social engineers currently ruling the nation. One report says this about the march: “As many as a million protesters descended upon Paris from every corner of France today to demonstrate their opposition to the Socialist government’s plans to introduce same-sex civil marriage.
“The Prefecture of Police estimates at least 380,000 participated in the three marches from different starting points that converged at the Champs de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower. Organisers, however, set up special counting stations and claim that, by 7:30pm tonight, over one million protestors had joined the march.
“Volunteers charted more than eight hundred vehicles to bring protestors to Paris, while six TGV high-speed trains were reserved for demonstrators. ‘Had the conditions for chartering trains not been as stringent,’ an organiser told Le Figaro ‘the number could easily have been double’. ‘In the freezing cold,’ Le Figaro reports, ‘young, old, and families with children were trying to keep warm waving thousands of pink flags to the jerky rhythm of techno music.’
“The entire workforce of the Directorate of Public Order & Traffic was called out to handle the massive demonstration, which forced a Paris Saint-Germain football match to be brought forward. Police believed it would be impossible to secure the area around the Parc des Princes stadium when hundreds of thousands of protesters were expected in the centre of the French capital.”
And this was not just a march led by and involving elderly religious fundamentalists. Young and old were involved, and plenty of secular and non-religious folks were involved, including its leadership: “The protest today was organised by the eccentric comedian Frigide Barjot, founder of the Collectif pour l’humanité durable, joined by gay atheist Xavier Bongibault of the association Plus gay sans mariage (‘More Gay Without Marriage’), and Laurence Tcheng of La gauche pour le mariage républicaine (‘The Left for Republican Marriage’).
“The unlike troika claim to have launched ‘a guerrilla war’ against the current Socialist Party government’s proposed same-sex civil marriage legislation. Avoiding the mainstream media, ‘Team Barjot’ went direct to supporters through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and, countering the government’s branding of same-sex civil marriage as ‘Mariage pour tous’, named their protest ‘Le Manif Pour Tous’ (‘The Protest for All’), asserting that all children have a right to a mother and father.
“If opinion polls are to be believed, the campaign against the proposed law seems to be changing perceptions. From 2000 to 2011, polls showed a steady rise in support for same-sex marriage. In 2012, this percentage began to decline; support for allowing same-sex couples to adopt also fell. Meanwhile, polls claim that 69% prefer same-sex marriage be put to a referendum.”
Another report about the demonstration further discusses the makeup of the march: “Many of the protesters were accompanied by children, some of whom brandished placards exclaiming: ‘Born of a man and a woman.’ A more light-hearted banner proclaimed: ‘There are no eggs in the testicles.’
“Jacques Julien, 70, who had travelled from the Haute Loire region of central France, said he had voted for Mr Hollande but disagreed with the Socialist president’s approach. ‘A man and a woman, that is the basis of the family,’ he said. ‘I’m saying out loud what many people on the left think privately.’
“The movement against gay marriage has given France a new celebrity in the form of its public face, Virginie Tellenne, a Parisian socialite who goes by the name of Frigide Barjot. Her assumed name – a play on the name of French film star Brigitte Bardot, a sex symbol in the 1960s – translates as Frigid Loony. ‘The president must listen to us,’ Barjot said. ‘He must put this law on hold’.”
Brian S. Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, was at the march and filed this report: “I write to you from France, where a pro-marriage revolution is underway! Francois Hollande, the ultra-liberal, socialist President of France swept into power last May, promising — among many other things — a swift passage of same-sex marriage and adoption legislation. But the people of France had other ideas.
“You see, the French people know in their bones that every child deserves a mother and father. And so they’ve taken to the streets — hundreds of thousands of them! I firmly believe we need more of this kind of flesh-and-blood activism here in America. After all, we know we are the silent pro-marriage majority … but do our friends, family and neighbors know we exist?
“I’m a proud son of America, but I believe we need to take a page out of the French playbook so that our fellow pro-marriage Americans can be inspired to rise up and take to the streets in defense of marriage, children and family. So I went to France this weekend, to see with my own eyes what is happening. And I have been amazed.
“The pro-marriage movement in France is passionate, diverse, uncompromising and inspired. They are also calm, rational and persistent. This was the biggest pro-marriage demonstration to date. Conservative estimates number the crowds in the hundreds of thousands.
“They held signs that read ‘Une papa, une maman pour TOUS les enfants!’ — which means ‘A dad, a mom for ALL children.’ Some children held signs that read ‘Made in papa + maman’: ‘Made in mom and dad.’ I have been so proud and honored to be part of this new international solidarity movement in defense of marriage, children and family.”
Yes and I am so proud as well of my French colleagues. They are fed up with the destruction of marriage and family and are actually doing something about it. They have shown the world that we can make a difference. It is hoped that their boldness and activism will inspire pro-marriage forces around the globe to redouble their efforts in defending this most important of social institutions.
Long live France and long live the marriage revolution.
http://www.andrewcusack.com/2013/01/13/le-manif-pour-tous/
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gay-marriage-opponents-flood-paris/story-e6frg6so-1226553271678
http://www.nomblog.com/32363/
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