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Europe Protesters march against French marriage law
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Around one-hundred thousand people have demonstrated in Paris against draft legislation that would give unmarried couples similar status to married people. The turnout was half what the organisers had predicted. Opponents of the bill, including religious groups and many right-wing politicians, say it would undermine family values by recognising homosexual relationships. But the French Interior Minister, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, has dismissed the demonstrators’ call to withdraw the bill. The lower house of the French parliament has approved the draft law. But the BBC Paris correspondent says it still has many hurdles to clear. More : news.bbc.co.uk |
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