(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL #228 - Marriage for All: The bourgeoisie slumming (fr)

In recent months, the government is trying to pass a law opening marriage and adoption to 
homosexual couples. While the law has been adopted, this proposal continues to face a 
strong reactionary mobilization pluriform virulent. ---- The law allows marriage and 
adoption by same-sex couples has been passed. Beyond marriage and adoption per se, other 
advanced law will be legal and tax type (inheritance facilitation, etc..). If pregnancy by 
others (GPA) does not appear in the text - which we can rejoice as the risk of 
commodification of female belly is big - medically assisted procreation (MAP) is, in turn, 
pushed back to later despite the campaign promises of the candidate Holland. This law does 
indeed have advanced in terms of equal rights for homosexual and heterosexual couples, and 
as such it must be defended.

However, it is far short of a comprehensive claim equality pass a minimum and at the end 
of the tax and legal inequalities between married and unmarried (couple or not).

Multiple oppositions

If the law meets such resistance is unfortunately not on this basis. Instead, opponents
announce defend the traditional family by claiming that only a heterosexual couple would 
be able to educate a child. The group behind the protests, mounted for the occasion, was 
given as a socialite muse comedian: frigid Looney. Several political groups on the right 
and far right are then grafted on various appointments, and after several attempts 
overflow is now more reluctant to go to the contact. In addition to this group, other 
initiatives around the Catholic traditionalist current, exist and play a homophobic 
register assumed.

The scale of events (up to 340 000 people in Paris by police) could surprise. They forget 
that a large part of the French population is defined as Catholic, and nearly 20,000 
"permanent" spreading propaganda of the Church in the parishes, not to mention the 
multitude of associations that act as belts on specific topics. The Church retains a 
significant mobilization capacity and is willing to use to defend the hetero-patriarchal 
model. Another reason for the success of their events is a tool of ideological 
restructuring of the bourgeoisie role.

Historically, the French right is composed of a current and a reactionary liberal 
movement. With the crisis of capitalism, it is losing speed. To keep his seat, the liberal 
right must be at the service of the most reactionary bourgeoisie fringes that allows him 
homophobic mobilization.

Against homophobia!

Faced with this roller, the pro-marriage for all events, albeit important, were apparently 
less successful. It is difficult to mobilize for support (even critical) to a law that 
will be passed, and the momentum is often limited to homosexual organizations 
(Arc-en-ciel, Homosexuality and Socialism, etc.). None of which has a capacity of 
mobilization comparable to the Church. If the law has finally been passed, the last 
fascist shares as also illustrate the difficulty of progressives to keep the pressure on 
the long-term of "societal" issues forces.

Dany (AL Toulouse)