Opponents say French marriage debate not over

(Vatican Radio) French President François Hollande signed a bill into law on Saturday, making France the 14^th country worldwide and the ninth in Europe to legalise same-sex marriage.

The first same-sex marriage in France is expected to be held in Montpellier on May 29.

France’s same-sex marriage bill passed a vote in Parliament in late April, and it was immediately challenged on constitutional grounds.

But the Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that the challenge is unfounded, clearing the way for the bill to become law and for the first same-sex marriage to take place after 10 days. Hollande spared no time in signing the bill on Saturday.

However, citizens opposed to same-sex marriage have scheduled a protest against the new law for May 26, which is also Mother’s Day in France and three days prior to the first expected same-sex civil wedding ceremony.

Caroline Roux, secretary general of Alliance Vita, a bioethics organization in Paris, says the debate is not over yet.

“The law has been democratically voted but for us it hurts democracy and it hurts the rights of children. And it is in contradiction to democratic laws that should protect the most fragile in the society,” she said.

“The debate is not over and it’s a very large social movement that was born. And (many) French people have discovered that this law is the first step to force gender theory in our society. And we are very concerned and we want to go on fighting against what is unfair regarding the children but also the human condition,” she said.

“It is very difficult to reverse a law but we think that we could do it,” she stated.

Listen to the report by Laura Ieraci: