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Gay marriage opponents mass in Paris for final rally | Gay marriage opponents mass in Paris for final rally |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in a final protest in Paris against a bill to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption. | |
There were scuffles and police fired tear gas as the protest spilled over onto the Champs Elysees, the avenue which runs past the president's palace. | There were scuffles and police fired tear gas as the protest spilled over onto the Champs Elysees, the avenue which runs past the president's palace. |
Interior Minister Manuel Valls said there had been dozens of arrests. | |
France's Senate is due to debate the bill next month after it was passed by the lower house of parliament. | France's Senate is due to debate the bill next month after it was passed by the lower house of parliament. |
President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party and its allies dominate both houses. | President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party and its allies dominate both houses. |
Opinion polls suggest a majority of French people still support gay marriage but their numbers have fallen in recent weeks. | Opinion polls suggest a majority of French people still support gay marriage but their numbers have fallen in recent weeks. |
Banners held up along the march route read: "We want work not gay marriage" and "No to gayxtremism". | |
Police had banned the protesters from the Champs Elysees, but groups of them broke through to the avenue. | Police had banned the protesters from the Champs Elysees, but groups of them broke through to the avenue. |
Officers used batons and tear gas to try to dislodge several hundred people who gathered there as the main demonstration ended. | |
Mr Valls said the remaining protesters were mostly from far-right groups. | |
However, the head of the centre-right opposition UMP party, Jean-François Cope, said some families on the protest had been caught up in the tear gas. |