Thousands protest French IVF law for single women, lesbians
Thousands gathered in Paris on Sunday to protest the government's plan to let single women and lesbians become pregnant with fertility treatments, the country's first major social reform since France legalised gay marriage in 2013.
Waving red and green flags, a crowd marched from the French Senate toward the monolithic Tour Montparnasse skyscraper, chanting "Liberty, Equality, Paternity" -- a play on the French motto which ends with "Fraternity."
Many wore the distinctive cone-shaped red Phyrgian hats that are a symbol of the French republic.
Organisers said they hoped 100,000 will turn out against the law, which was approved by the lower house of parliament last month, but officials said they were expecting 10,000 to 20,000 people.
"For two years now our attempts at dialogue have gone nowhere... the street is the only place left for us to be heard," Ludovine de la Rochere, president of the Protest for Everyone association, told journalists Sunday.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged during his 2017 election campaign to push the law despite deep resistance among rightwing opponents as well as conservative Roman Catholics and other religious groups.
They had mobilised massively in...