“La Manif pour Tous”, the movement that won’t pack up and go home

“La Manif pour Tous”, the movement that won’t pack up and go home

By Victor LAFONT and Rosanna MANIGLIO

Protesters dressed in pink and blue invaded the streets of Paris on 16 October 2016, a phenomenon that had not occurred since late 2013. What’s going on?

It all began in 2012. During the summer, the French government proposed a bill on same-sex marriage, known as “le Mariage pour Tous” (“Marriage for Everyone”). The bill also included provisions for adoption and artificial insemination for homosexual couples. Soon after, a group of resolute people decided to fight against this proposal under the name “la Manif pour Tous” (“Protest for Everyone”), a witty reply to the informal name of the bill. Men dressed in blue and women dressed in pink campaigned to protect their vision of the traditional French family.

Between 2012 and 2013, a pink and blue tide washed over the country, aiming to show the whole world how important their fight was. But despite all their efforts, the same-sex marriage bill passed into law on the International Day Against Homophobia 2013. The first same-sex wedding took place several days later, and then nobody ever heard of “la Manif pour Tous” again -- until today.

If the origins of the movement are clear, one thing remains unexplained: all these events happened more than 3 years ago. So why has “la Manif pour Tous” risen from the dead? Their answer is simple: the gay lobby is destroying French society and corrupting innocent youth using a powerful weapon - gender theory. These pink-and-blue knights of the 21st century proclaim their noble quest to “preserve our society and humanity”. Against the backdrop of right-wing primary elections in France, they decided to make their comeback. They want to make themselves heard by right-wing candidates and promote their ideas, including the repeal of the same-sex marriage law.

However, a recent survey shows that homosexuality and same-sex families are increasingly well accepted in France. A homosexual couple living with their children “is a real family” for 63% of French people, and 59% are favorable to artificial insemination for lesbian couples.

In light of these figures, why would one want to go backwards ?

http://www.lemonde.fr/famille-vie-privee/article/2016/09/14/les-familles-homoparentales-mieux-acceptees_4997454_1654468.html

http://www.lamanifpourtous.fr/comprendre/comprendre-lessentiel/