FRANCE: 125,000 March In Paris To Support Same-Sex Marriage

There was a great turnout today for the same-sex marriage march in Paris.

Demonstrators waved banners emblazoned with phrases like “Equality of rights is not a threat” and chanted: “What do you want? Equality! When do you want it? Now!” Another placard showed a version of the French government’s seal, but with two Mariannes kissing, and under the words, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,” was the slogan “No more, no less!” According to the police, about 125,000 people marched, twice the number that took part in a similar demonstration supporting same-sex marriage in mid-December. Two weeks ago, a demonstration by those opposed to the proposal drew what the police said were 340,000 people into the streets of Paris. But during his campaign, the Socialist François Hollande, now president, promised to legalize gay marriage within a year of taking office in May. And with effective majorities in both houses of Parliament, Mr. Hollande and his government should be able to beat back various efforts by opponents to kill or amend the bill, and some suggest that even given the long legislative process, it may become law in May or June.

The New York Times adds: "In contrast to the opponents who demonstrated two weeks ago, many of the marchers on Sunday were relatively young and personally invested in the future of the law."
NOTE: Other estimates claim today's crowd may have been as large as 400,000.