Christine Boutin, "Homosexuality is an abomination"

No prizes for guessing which particular ex-minister came up with that delightful sentiment.

None other than Christine Boutin, housing minister for two years in François Fillon's first two governments under Nicolas Sarkozy.

The founder and, until last year leader, of the  Parti chrétien-démocrate (Christian Democratic Party, PCD) is well known for her tolerance and understanding of all things gay.

An "outraged" Christine Boutin refuses to answer questions about being married to her first cousin (screenshot LCP May 2013)

The now 70-year-old made her name on the national political stage during the parliamentary debate in 1998 when the government of the day, under Socialist party (PS) prime minister Lionel Jospin, introduced legislation to allow civil union between same-sex or opposite-sex couples; the  pacte civil de solidarité (civil solidarity pact) or PACS.

Boutin was vehemently opposed, most famously giving a five-hour speech during which she said (among many other things) that the legislation was unacceptable because it would  (paraphrasing) "put homosexuality and heterosexuality on the same, level, leading to the demise of society and seriously jeopardising the education of children."

Fast forward 15 years and Boutin was back on her soapbox, spouting her family values, predicting "civil war", the end of (French) society and marching at the front of the "Mariage pour tous" demonstrations against legislation to allow marriage between couples of the same sex.

She was in her element once again, insisting she was not a homophobe while also talking about (shortly after the legislation passed) what appeared to her to be "an invasion of gays".

So the editors of the quarterly political magazine Charles must have known Boutin would be good for a quote or two when they invited her to answer questions about her "vision of sexuality and morals" (and her views on Dominique Strauss-Kahn) in their most recent issue.

That's when she seized the opportunity to make, what she sees, as an important distinction between a homosexual or lesbian and the sexual act.

"I have never condemned homosexuals," she said. "Homosexuality is an abomination. But not the person," she continued.

"Sin is never acceptable, but the sinner is always forgiven."

Yes, Boutin at her "best" - and too much even for the leader of the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) and the man she had backed in the battle to win that position in 2012, Jean-François Copé.

He turned to Twitter to give his reaction to Boutin's views, calling them, "intolerable, unacceptable and unforgivable."

Although Boutin no longer holds elected national office in France, you can expect to hear more from her during the upcoming campaign for the European parliamentary elections.

She has launched the list "Force vie" with candidates (including herself) offering an anti-system alternative to the established parties, which for Boutin includes the PS, UMP and the Front National.

Watch out Strasbourg!

Same-sex marriage legal in France unless...your partner is the "wrong" nationality.

So you're French and either gay or lesbian, and you want to marry your partner.

Well, as you probably know, given all the media coverage there was both domestically and internationally, now you can - in France at least.

Since May 18, just a day after the "wise men" of the Conseil Constitutionnel (Consitutional Council) approved the bill that had made its way through both the National Assembly and the Senate, and the president, François Hollande, had formerly declared it law, France became the 14th country to recognise same-sex marriage.

Less than a fortnight later Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau exchanged vows and rings in front of the  mayor, of Montpellier Hélène Mandroux, and a global audience to become the first same-sex couple to marry officially in France.

Progress indeed.

Montpellier's mayor Hélène Mandroux with Vincent Autin (right) and Bruno Boileau (screenshot AFPTV)

Except the so-called "Mariage pour tous" isn't quite what it's cracked up to be.

Ah yes. You knew there had to be an anomaly didn't you.?

Because if you're French and your partner and prospective spouse happens to come from one of any 11 countries then it's tough, because you won't be able to marry them in France.

A circular from the ministry of justice and signed by the minister who so energetically and eloquently guided the same-sex marriage legislation through parliament, Christine Taubira, says as much.

And the French website StreetPress managed to get its hands on the document and publish it in its entirety (available to download as a pdf file).

The countries concerned - in no particular order other than the one given in the circular - are Poland, Morocco, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Slovenia, Cambodia, Laos, Tunisia and Algeria.

Yes a heap of countries with which France has historically had (and continues to have) very close links and a couple (Poland and Slovenia) who are fellow members of the European Union.

None of that matters though because, as far as the ministry of justice is concerned, when couples of the same sex wish to marry and "one of the spouses is a national of one of these countries, the state registrar shall not solemnise the marriage."

On Rue89, another French website, 25-year-old "Lise" (that's the name she chose to use in the interview) who currently lives in Berlin with her partner "Agnieszka" explains how she discovered the couple wouldn't be able to marry in France in spite of the new law because she had made 'the mistake of falling in love with a Polish woman."

It's all apparently to do with individual bilateral agreements between France and each of the 11 countries on the application of the Marriage Act and, for the ministry of justice, it's now up to the foreign ministry to find a solution and "revise the agreements" as necessary.

Nothing like passing the buck.

Hallelujah.

After heated parliamentary and media debate and sometimes violent street protests which only served to fuel the decidedly homophobic views of a very verbal minority, the government still couldn't get the legislation right.

It drafted and passed a bill which, in its detail, could never truly completely deliver on what it had promised - and that's "Mariage pour tous".

When Vincent and Bruno got married, the world didn't end

But maybe it changed a little for the better

France has celebrated its first same-sex marriage.

The eyes of the world - or at least the cameras - were on Montpellier on Wednesday as Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau exchanged vows and rings in front of the city's mayor, Hélène Mandroux.

Montpellier's mayor Hélène Mandroux with Vincent Autin (right) and Bruno Boileau (screenshot AFPTV)

It was a moving moment to watch and - if you believe in the institution of marriage - seemed such a natural ending to the most normal of love stories (you can read about how they met in this piece from The Guardian).

Yes, those words are chosen deliberately.

It didn't mark the breakdown of French society as we know it, although those opposed to the idea that same-sex couples should have the right to marry will probably continue their reactionary and discriminatory bleating from the sidelines.

Rather it's a sign that French law has caught up with what opinion polls have been saying for the past decade.

And that's progress.

There'll be more evidence of that when two characters from one of the country's most popular daily soap operas "Plus belle la vie" - Thomas Marci (played by actor, Laurent Kérusoré)  Gabriel Riva (Joakim Latzko) tie the knot in an episode due to be screened in a month or so.

And as part of a poster campaign it has just launched in Paris to appeal to a younger public who might be living and working in different European cities, the high-speed train operator Thalys has  included a gay couple.

No, being gay or lesbian is not a trend, a fashion statement or a lifestyle choice as some of those protesting against the right of same-sex couples to marry might have claimed.

And while this week's events might have grabbed the headlines both in France and abroad, it surely also gives rise to the hope that some time very soon people will look back at Vincent and Bruno's marriage and wonder what all the fuss was about.

French opposition UMP party as united as ever in perfect disharmony

Exciting news from France's opposition centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP).

Jean-François Copé and François Fillon have agreed to let members decide on whether to hold another vote for the post of party leader.

Breathe deeply before you read on. Some of what follows will be more than confusing.

The UMP is in a bit of a mess at the moment. Actually it has been for quite a while now.

For example, take its reaction (sorry to have to mention this again) to the anti same-sex marriage "Manif pour tous" march in Paris last weekend.

Among those taking part in the demonstration were the party's president, Jean-François Copé, Henri Guaino - a former speechwriter to Nicolas Sarkozy when he was in office and now a member of parliament in his own right - and Laurent Wauquiez, a former minister and a supporter of Copé's "defeated" challenger for the leadership of the party - François Fillon.

Notable by their absence though were Fillon himself, Alain Juppé - a former minister of just about anything you can think of and the current mayor of Bordeaux, and the party's likely candidate for next year's race to be mayor of Paris, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet (NKM).

Copé - ever the slick opportunist - was plainly using the demonstration as a means by which to protest against the current government and drum up support for the party in next year's local elections.

While for Guaino, it was clearly a matter of sticking to his principals - even if he had mistakenly voted in favour of the bill to allow same-sex marriage when it passed its final reading in parliament - and he was "proud" to have taken part.

Juppé, who unlike Guiano had managed to hit the right button and say "non" in the final vote - had previously stated he would be a no-show as the law had been passed and it had to be respected.

And NKM, who had abstained in the parliamentary vote, obviously had other more important issues on her mind namely that of the far-right Front National's call  to vote against her when polls open in the UMP's primary to choose its candidate for mayor of Paris.

Phew!

On the subject of "voting" that brings us back neatly to an issue that remains unresolved and illustrates the state of health of the party...the struggle for the leadership.

You thought it was over?

Wrong.

Jean-François Cope and François Fillon (screenshot from i>Télé report)

Remember Copé's glorious "victory" over Fillon in last year's battle when both men declared themselves to have won and how the party split in two for a while after claims of vote-rigging and fraud?

The debacle dragged on for weeks until the two men and their supporters managed to bury the proverbial hatchet (somewhere) and reach some sort of working agreement.

They created an internal structure stuffed to bursting point with vice presidents to represent the two very different directions the party was trying to take at the same time.

Even though Copé perhaps has had the upper hand - after all he's the one who holds the post of party leader - his legitimacy has been questioned, and the issue of whether to hold another vote has never really gone away...until now.

Because on Monday the two men announced a solution which will put an end to divisions within the party and steer it on a true red, white and blue course for the future.

They've agreed to let party members decide whether there should be another vote to choose the party president.

Yes in other words (and sorry, there's no way to make this clear without constant repetition) their recommendation is that party members vote in June on whether they should vote again in December.

Now doesn't that make complete and utter political (non)sense?

Pass the gin.

Christine Boutin's "invasion of gays"

As France "recovers" from the million person march (organisers) or 150,000-strong (official figures) anti same-sex marriage "Manif pour tous" last weekend in Paris, a couple are preparing to wed in Montpellier.

On Wednesday Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau will become the first "gay grooms to tie the knot" since parliament voted in favour, the Constitutional Council gave its approval and the French president François Hollande signed same-sex marriage into law.

Vincent Autin (right) and Bruno Boileau (screenshot AFPTV report)

Add to that the fact that on the same day as the march, Franco-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche picked up top honours at the Cannes film festival for his "story of a young woman's awakening" in the film "La vie d'Adèle" ("Blue is the warmest colour") and you'll surely understand (?) how it has all become just a little too much for the country's most gay-friendly politician to handle.

We're talking about Christine Boutin of course, the former housing minister and leader of the centre-right Parti chrétien-démocrate (Christian democratic party, PCD) who defends family values and is most definitely not a homophobe.

That must be true because she has repeatedly said so.

Christine Boutin "I'm not a homophobe" (screenshot from TV5Monde, RFI, Le Monde interview)

But somehow it's increasingly hard to believe, especially in light of her outburst on French radio on Monday.

Following on from her recent tasteless tweet about US actress Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer, and perhaps still feeling the after-effects (well there has to be some sort of explanation)  of being sprayed with tear gas during a Manif pour tous demonstration in Paris back in March, Boutin revealed that contrary to what she might insist, her views surely more than smack of homophobia.

Invited into the studios of RMC radio and asked to give her reaction to Kechiche's win, Boutin's  gay tolerance fuse blew.

"You can't watch a movie on television or a series without there being gays included and expressing themselves," she said.

"And now it's the Palme d'Or.... We're being invaded. We can no longer have a story without a gay theme occurring. It's too much," she continued.

"Today it seems to be a fashion to be gay. We're being invaded by gays."

Au secours!

The political numbers game - don't always believe what you see

As well as being a public holiday, May Day is the time for marching in France, and last Wednesday was no different.

Er...perhaps that needs to be reworded as any time seems good for the French to take to the streets.

If you need proof of that, just look at this past weekend.

First up, 35,000 (if you believe the organisers) or 15,000 (according to the police) took to the streets of Paris in "Le Manif Pour Tous" - yet another demonstration by those opposed to the law allowing same-sex marriage and adoption which was passed by parliament last month and is currently awaiting the approval of the Conseil Constitutionnel (Constitutional Council).

And then there was Jean-Luc Mélanchon and his 180,000 supporters (his figures) or 30,000 (according to the police) gathered in the capital, campaigning against austerity and calling for "a clean up of French politics and the creation of a new and improved France in the form of a 6th Republic."

Yes, the police were busy - but quite how busy, is open to question.

Anyway, back to May Day when, as tradition has it, trade unions take the lead in celebrating workers' rights (and protesting against government policy - this time around, austerity) in demonstrations throughout the country - 160,000 (organisers) or 97,300 police.

Once again, it's hard to get an exact picture.

But thankfully we've got the media to inform and provide those images that help give an accurate impression, haven't we?

Er...haven't we?

Well, that depends.

Take the case, for example, of another traditional rally in Paris on May 1, that of the far right (or economically protectionist, socially conservative nationalist party as Wikipedia now describes it) Front National, when Joan of Arc was inevitably evoked as a symbol of pride and patriotism, and the party's leader, Marine Le Pen delivered an address to the assembled throng.

Front National May Day rally, Paris
(screenshot BFM TV)

Once again there was a notable difference between the figures quoted by the organisers (15,000) and the police (6,000) who assembled to hear the woman who would, according to a (nonsensical) poll released at the end of April make it through to a second-round run-off (against Nicolas Sarkozy) if "the presidential elections were held tomorrow".

If you had been watching the three generations of Le Pen - Jean-Marie, Marine and Marion - leading the flag-waving supporters, you might well have had the impression that the far right march to power is inevitable and unstoppable because the camera doesn't lie - does it?

But wait.

Guess who was providing the footage used by many of the all-news channels in France covering the march?

Political journalist Nicolas Domenach revealed all on last Friday's lunchtime news magazine "Nouvelle Edition" on Canal + with a warning to be wary of what you believe you're seeing - it was the Front National itself, with only i>Télé "remembering" to inform viewers of that fact.

Have all those figures done your head in?

Time then perhaps for some musical respite.

Jean-Claude Massiou, the French mayor who says he won't marry same-sex couples

The National Assembly has only just voted to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt (and remember it still has to be approved by the country's Conseil Constitutionnel or Constitutional Council with opponents hoping their appeal will require the bill returning to parliament in a revised form) and already one mayor has said neither he nor any of his elected officials will respect the law.

Jean-Claude Massiou from the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) is mayor of the village of Abjat-sur-Bandiat (population 651) in the département of La Dordogne.

Mayor of Abjat-sur-Bandiat, Jean-Claude Massiou (screenshot from website 24Gay.fr)

True to his pre-vote stance when he campaigned against the bill, Massiou insists his views haven't changed, even after Tuesday's parliamentary vote.

If a couple of the same sex living his village ask to be married at the mairie, Massiou says he'll simply refuse "politely" and without any "aggression."

"It's not homophobia or anything," he told a local radio station.

"It's a matter of principle: marriage is between a man and a woman," he continued, seemingly ignorant of the fact that is no longer the case.

And Massiou doesn't seem particularly worried about the possibility of sanctions for breaking the law by discriminating against couples of the same sex and refusing to marry them; maximum three years imprisonment and a fine of €45,000.

"We"ll see what happens because there has been a precedent set when Noël Mamère (the mayor of the Bordeaux suburb of Bègles) conducted a marriage ceremony for two men (in 2004)."

"It wasn't legal (or recognised) but no action was taken against Mamère."

Maybe Massiou should take a leaf out of a fellow UMP mayor (and one who's slightly better-known) Rachida Dati.

She is of course a former justice minister - the position currently held by the woman who had to steer the bill through both chambers of parliament, Christiane Taubira

Just like Massiou, Dati was an outspoken opponent of the bill before it passed but knows how to accept defeat gracefully (well, in this case at least).

Invited on to Wednesday's lunchtime news magazine on Canal + "La Nouvelle Edition" to explain why she had decided to pull out of the race for her party's nomination for mayor of Paris, Dati was also asked to comment on the previous day's vote.

And in particular whether she would, as mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris, marry couples of the same sex.

"I'm an elected official and the law has been passed by parliament although it still has to be enacted," she said.

"I represent an arrondissement where there are many opponents to same-sex marriage, but just like them, I shall respect the laws of the republic."

Are you listening M. Massiou?

Perhaps you should follow Dati's example and instead concentrate on organising the event for which your village is apparently better known - the annual French National Conker Championships.

La Nouvelle Edition du 24/04/13 - Partie 3

Henri Guaino's lesson on how to vote for same-sex marriage

Isn't there something deliciously comforting in the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) parliamentarian Henri Guaino voting in favour on Tuesday to legalise same-sex marriage in France.

After all, by any stretch of the imagination, Guaino could hardly have been described as a fervent supporter of the bill.

Quite the opposite actually.

Henri Guaino (screenshot from YouTube video)

Many and frequent were his statements in opposition to the bill, including most recently a call for those against, to take to the streets in protest against the government's decision to fast-track its final reading.

So how come, when crunch time came on Tuesday afternoon, Guaino voted with the government?

A sudden change of heart maybe or a revelation of some sort?

Neither as it turns out.

The man still described by much of the French media as former president Nicolas Sarkozy's "plume" for his political speechwriting skills might be able to turn a phrase or two with a pen.

But when it comes to pressing a button in an important parliamentary vote it seems he's just not up to the job.

Because Guaino and a fellow UMP party member and former education minister Luc Chatel, both apparently chose the wrong one.

"Did you see what a mess there was," Guaino said afterwards, confirming he had mistakenly voted in favour of the bill.

"I've never seen such chaos," added the first-time parliamentarian who only entered the National Assembly after last year's national elections.

"There were three buttons flashing, and yes, I pushed the wrong one. I'm going to see whether I can have my vote corrected."

Too bad heh?

Sugarbabes!

Same-sex marriage - France could learn a lesson from New Zealand

It's such perfect timing.

New Zealand parliament (screenshot from YouTube video)

On the day same the National Assembly began its second reading of the bill to legalise same-sex marriage in France, take a look at how parliamentarians in New Zealand reacted to the passing of similar legislation in that country.

It's hard to imagine similar scenes here in France after next week's final vote.

But who knows.

"Call me maybe" - the Nicolas Sarkozy version

The past few months hasn't been the most inspiring - politically-speaking - in France.

(screenshot from Les Guignols video)

Sure there was the Trierweiler Twittergate affair early in to François Hollande's "normal" presidency.


And there have been a couple of policy decisions since that will surely have left those who voted for Hollande in May and the Socialist party in June somewhat...er...perplexed.

Same-sex marriage and adoption by couples of the same sex is still very much a live topic but it's probably taking longer to implement than many supporters had imagined and, let's face it, Hollande has hardly "led" the debate.

More recently of course there has been the balls-up over one of Hollande's principal (and for many, most controversial) election promises, to raise to 75 per cent the tax rate for those earning over €1 million per year.

Somehow those responsible for drafting the legislation and writing the budget failed to notice that a household in which both partners earned just under one million (say €900,000 each) per year would not be subject to the new tax but one in which just a single person earned over €1 million (and the other didn't work, for example) would.

Duh!

Someone overlooked the fact that taxing by person rather than household was unfair. The constitutional council didn't though, so it's back to prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's government to get it right.

The super rich can breath again...for the moment.

Apart from that - nowt much, other than the Dallas-type leadership contest for the opposition Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) which gradually became more than a little tedious.

No. French politics hasn't really been that enthralling of late. Well, not in the way it used to be.

(screenshot from Les Guignols video)

Still, there's always hope that things might perk up a bit for 2013, especially with rumours that Ségolène Royal (yes, hasn't she been quiet recently?) could well be making a (welcome) return to the frontline with a post in government (word has it that "justice" is has been Seggers-marked)

Anyway, just to leave you with a grin on your face and a reminder of how things used to be (without necessarily implying they were any better) here's a video from those marvels of parody, Les Guignols de l'info on Canal +.

It's their spin back in October on one of the year's biggest international hits, "Call me maybe" by Carly-Rae Jepsen,  only Les Guignols wanted to make clear how dull things had become for news editors, journalists and anchors alike in France ever since you-know who took early retirement.

Smile as you sing along karaoke-style and spot a host of TV news personalities  from Claire Chazal to David Pujadas, Michel Denisot to Harry Roselmack, Nicolas Sarkozy himself relaxing in the jacuzzi with a cameo guitar-strumming appearance from Carla, and Nadine Morano looking as manic as ever.

Enjoy and...Happy New Year

Les Guignols du 04/10/2012 - Rappelez Sarkozy

Gay marriage and adoption - a hotbed for terrorism?

Even if you're in favour of same-sex marriage and two men or two women being allowed to adopt, you probably agree there's room for debate.

It's healthy after all isn't it?

Opinions can be shared, explanations attempted as to why neither should be feared, how society isn't going to collapse, the world isn't going to end (well it might on December 21, but that has nothing at all to do with the matter at hand) and the proposed legislation is just French lawmakers catching with what a majority of the population already believes to be right and just.

And hey, who knows, in the process of a constructive discussion, some people might set aside their intolerance and realise that same-sex marriage is not a threat to religious institutions.

But - aha - you knew it was coming didn't you - some arguments against same-sex marriage and adoption are surely more than absurd.

Such as the one put forward earlier this week by Nicolas Dhuicq, a parliamentarian for the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP).

Nicolas Dhuicq (screenshot YouTube video)

 Dhuicq was speaking during a debate in the national assembly on Tuesday on the government's anti-terrorism bill when he made the link between - here we go - same-sex marriage, adoption by parents of the same sex and...terrorism.

Firstly he helpfully explained how or why some people became terrorists.

"One characteristic of terrorists is that in most cases they've never had paternal authority while growing up," he said

"They've never had the opportunity to learn what's feasible and what isn't, what's good and what's bad," he continued.

And then addressing Manuel Valls, the interior minister who was present during the debate, Dhuicq made that link between same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples and terrorism.

"Isn't there a certain contradiction in the government's anti-terrorism proposals and those which at the same time seek to strike the word 'father' from the civil code," he said.

"What you're doing is setting the basis for gender confusion in the future, the denial of sexual differences and psychosis," he added.

So there you go. As far as Dhuicq is concerned the government is helping set the conditions for future generations of potential terrorists by blurring the boundaries of sexual identity.

Just for the record, Dhuicq is a qualified psychiatrist, a member of the rightwing grouping Droite populaire within the UMP and a supporter of Jean-François Copé.

Maybe we should be more thankful that the media has been focusing less on what he has had to say over the past week and more on the turmoil within his own party.


Le député UMP Dhuicq lie homoparentalité et... par LeNouvelObservateur

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy says she supports same-sex marriage

All might be quiet on the political front at the moment as far as the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is concerned, but that hasn't stopped his missus from dabbling in affairs - well not quite "of state" but almost.

Yes the natural beauty and simplicity that is Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is talking to the press again.

Recently, you might remember, she chose an interview with Elle France magazine to break her silence six months after leaving the Elysée palace and to offer - among other things - a piece of advice to her successor as the country's first lady, Valérie Trierweiler,

It was of course to tie the knot with the current president François Hollande because, "I think it is simpler to be the legitimate wife of the head of state rather than being his partner," she told the magazine.

Now the former model-turned singer has chosen the special Christmas edition of Vogue Paris - complete with another front cover naturally - in which to share her beliefs and thoughts on a number of all-important matters.

(screenshot Vogue Paris)

And among them is a point of view that doesn't exactly reflect that of her husband.

Bruni-Sarkozy is in favour of both same-sex marriage and couples of the same sex being allowed to adopt.

"I have lots of friends - both women and men - who are in same-sex relationships and who have children," she tells the magazine.

"I don't see anything unstable of perverse about it," she adds.

"In fact it might be the case that same-sex parents try harder because they are more aware of the way in which society perceives them."

So how does the 44-year-old marry (forgive perhaps the inappropriate choice of words) her opinion on the subject with that of her husband who decided not to include it in his unsuccessful presidential election campaign and instead spoke out against same-sex marriage.

Simple.

She sees things differently.

"My husband is rather against (same-sex marriage) for reasons related to his vocation as a politician, because he sees people in groups of thousands (er...does she mean voters?) rather than in terms of the people we actually know."

Ah wise words from the former first lady whose full interview and photo spreads as the magazine's "guest of honour" can be found in Vogur Paris available from December 3.

Rush out now to order your copy.

A little music from Bruni-Sarkozy while we await the release of her fourth album?

Oh, all right.

Incomplete animal faction - French cows want "Mariage pour tous"

It might seem that the French president, François Hollande, is blowing hot and cold in his support for same-sex marriage, but the country's cows are clear where they stand.

The official organisation representing both France's dairy and beef herds has issued a statement demanding that the draft legislation dubbed "Mariage pour tous" or "Marriage for everyone" be taken literally and be extended to allow cows to tie the knot.

La Normande (from Wikipedia)

Speaking from her pasture in northwestern France, the president of "Oh la vache!", Marguerite la Normande, told reporters that the current proposals were clearly discriminatory.

"At the last count there were more than 3.5 million dairy cows in France alone and everyone knows that we constitute a vital part of the rural economy," she said.

"It's just not fair that the debate so far has centred on marriage between two men or two women. What about us? We also have feelings," she continued.

"And we have the means to protest and get our point across," she added.

"Just imagine the effect it would have, for example, on cheese production, if we up-uddered tomorrow and refused to be milked."

La Normande's "Oh la vache!" has already had what she describes as "moo-ving support" from several government ministers, but there has not yet been any official response from the Elysée palace.

That might be down to the fact that Hollande is still busy trying to work out what he meant when he told the national mayors’ conference earlier this week that the country's locally-elected mayors would have "freedom of conscience" to decide whether to perform marriage ceremonies and then appeared to do a U-turn the following day,

But if the French president has been slow to react, the same cannot be said for groups opposed to "Mariage pour tous".

"It's this sort of threat that the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, warned against last month," said a spokesman for the movement Civitas, well-known for its objective and humanistic opinions on all social matters.

"The very basis upon which French society is built is in danger if the proposals for same-sex marriage become law," he continued.

"Cardinal Barbarin said it was one step on the road to legalising incest and polygamy - in fact the very destruction of all our principles and morals. And here's the proof now, with cows also wanting to marry. Never!"

La Normande, who has personal reasons for feeling so strongly about the issue, hopes that her organisation will be able to persuade the French president to introduce a new clause into the draft proposals, although she admits she doesn't have a great deal of faith in Hollande sticking to his initial election promise, let alone meeting her demands.

"He's a man who seems to enjoy chewing the cud almost as much as I do, and never actually making up his mind," she said.

"Still I remain hopeful he'll take on board how important this issue is to the French bovine population and take into account our own person feelings," she continued.

"I've been engaged to a bull at a neighbouring farm for over a year. He already has the ring in his nose and I'm just waiting for him to be able to put it on my hoof."

Moo!

Let's all say a prayer - for same sex marriage

Or how a majority of French favour same-sex marriage but the Catholic church doesn't - of course.

In fact it has urged congregations to pray that the government "sees the light" over the matter.

It must have been sheer coincidence don't you think?

The very day that the Catholic church in France asked its faithful to "pray for (traditional) family values" a poll was published showing that an ever-increasing majority of the French are in favour of same-sex marriage.

Cardinal André Vingt-trois, Archbishop of Paris (screenshot YouTube video)

The poll, conducted by Ifop and published by the online magazine  La lettre de l'opinion showed that 65 per cent are in favour of two guys or two gals being allowed legally to tie the knot.

That's continuing a trend over the past decade and a two point progression over a similar poll conducted a year ago.

Oh yes attitudes have changed - well at least those of the public at large. Back in 1996 only 48 per cent of those questioned were in favour.

And the same is true - to a slightly lesser extent - for the other (linked) issue which the government is expected to address with legislation tabled next year - namely that of same-sex couples being given the right to adopt.

In 1996 it had the thumbs up from 33 per cent of French. The latest poll puts it at 53 per cent.

Thankfully though for those whose hackles might be raised at very idea of such an unnatural and antisocial act becoming (shush, don't tell anyone) law, there's always the Catholic church to be relied on to uphold the moral wellbeing of the French.

And it did itself proud on Assumption Day, with the reading out during services in churches across the country of a  "Prayer for France".

Penned by the wonderfully named Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, the prayer called for churchgoers "to pray for newly elected officials to put their sense of common good over the pressure to meet special demands”.

Hmmn.

Subtle.

And just in case the message wasn't coming across loud and clear there was also mention of children and that they "cease to be objects of the desires and conflicts of adults (fair enough, nobody is going to argue with that surely)" and "fully benefit from the love of a father and a mother”.


Well.

Er, yes. Quite.

Very enlightened.

You can read the full text of the prayer (in French) here.

Once again a demonstration that the Catholic church is bang up-to-date and has its finger on the pulse of what most people believe to be right.

Still it's there to offer us all guidance in our misguided beliefs.

Let's hope the Archbishop manages to get the French back on track before they - or rather the government - commit...ooh...you know it's coming...(a lame and clumsy pun) a cardinal sin.

As a reminder, the government of Jean-Marc Ayrault is committed to introducing draft legislation on both issues some time in 2013.
Over to you Aretha.

Amen.