The Taubira bill, which opens marriage and adoption to same-sex couples, was definitively adopted yesterday in the National Assembly. The text was voted “conform,” meaning without modification from the version voted by the Senate last week.
It marks the end of a legislative marathon that has lasted since January. France is the fourteenth country to open marriage to homosexual couples, the ninth in Europe. The text received 331 votes in favor and 225 against.
Supporters hail it as a historic vote, while opponents remain undeterred and announce new demonstrations as the UMP has filed an appeal to the Constitutional Council.
In Nice, reactions are also very contrasted between the socialist leader Patrick Allemand, who on social media labels all deputies who voted against as homophobes, and the UDI Deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes, Rudy Salles, who voted against the law and wonders if “A genuine humanist debate on family values and respect for individual orientations could have allowed a consensual legislative evolution rather than a forcibly or recently accelerated march.”
And Rudy Salles added: “The presentation of the ‘Marriage for All’ bill by the Government stems from an ideological motivation (this proposal had long been part of the socialist program).
The law on ‘Marriage for All’, poorly constructed and ambiguous on many points including medically assisted procreation and surrogacy, provokes very strong reactions from the public, leading to opposing the French among themselves. At a time when France needs unity, this debate was not at all opportune. It would have been enough to amend the PACS to satisfy those who requested it without offending those who consider marriage to be a sacred institution in our country, and they are numerous.”
And to conclude: “Finally, beyond the demonstrations, this debate has triggered quite unacceptable homophobic reactions in a large tolerant and democratic country like ours. I regret and denounce it because the image France is projecting these days is deplorable.
For all these reasons, I voted against this bill while regretting the climate into which the left has plunged our country. We must defend the rights and duties of everyone with all our might. We live in a society of freedom. Homosexuals should neither be singled out nor excluded from society. We must not only advance laws in this area but also advance mindsets.
However, we must not give the impression on these subjects that one part of the French is being pitted against the others, otherwise, the result achieved goes against the set objective.”
And now, it’s probably really time to move on…
