Paris to rally against France’s controversial bill on gay marriage

Tens of thousands of people in France are expected to take to the streets of the capital, Paris, in a final effort to block the controversial bill on gay marriage.

The event organizers said on Friday that they hoped around 50,000 people will attend the Sunday protest.

“We only have a few days left. We are not going to abandon the street” protests now, said organizer Alberic Dumont.

The French parliament is expected to pass the first article of the bill, which allows same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, on April 23. The upper house of the French parliament approved the first article by 179 votes against 157 on April 9.

The legislation is hugely controversial as the country is mainly Catholic, although, it is officially secular.

On Friday, police clashed with protesters during a demonstration against the bill. The police also used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. On April 18, police detained over 70 people in another demonstration.

France has experienced huge protests against the same-sex marriage bill, including a rally on March 24, where police attacked thousands of participants with tear gas and batons.

Polls show that French people are mostly against a legal permission for same-sex couples to adopt children.

French churches have also condemned the bill, calling gay marriage “a sham” that would “shake one of the foundations of our society.”

France’s President Francois Hollande had promised to throw his weight behind the bill as the proposed legislation was one of his presidential campaign promises.

Several other European states, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Spain, and Sweden have also authorized same-sex marriage.