Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris to support the government-sponsored bill which legalizes gay marriage.
A crowd of more than 125,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Paris in support of a government-sponsored bill which legalizes gay marriage. They carried slogans that read "Equality of rights is not a threat." The procession began from Denfert-Rochereau square in the southern part of the city.
A similar demonstration was carried out last December with more than 340,000 people turning up to support the cause. According to a survey released by the French government Saturday, 63 percent of the French population is in favor of same sex marriage, which is a three percent increase since December.
"There is a big difference between today's march and the one two weeks ago, which is that this demonstration is one of brotherhood, not of hatred," Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who is openly gay, said on French television. "The majority of French people wants all couples to have equality in love and parenthood."
The French Parliament will begin debate on the bill Tuesday. The debate will last two weeks after which it will make its decisions. If the bill is passed, France will become the 12th country where gay marriage is legalized.
Government members were also seen participating in the demonstration, one of which was Former French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot.
"Nobody has anything to fear from this step forward," she told BFM television.
However, Henri Guaino, a former top adviser to President Nicolas Sarkozy, didn't support the march calling it a "denial of nature."
"It is a negation of the difference between the sexes," he told BFM.
As of now, countries where gay marriage has been legalized include Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Washington D.C., nine states in the U.S. and South Africa.
