Franck Riester applauds the passing of the same-sex marriage bill in 2013
Photo credit: Ericwaltr
Springtime in Paris. Demonstrations in the streets. Angry debates in parliament.
Sound familiar? This year it’s pension reform but ten years ago this month, it was same-sex marriage.
Legislation to allow marriage between two people of the same sex was approved by the Assemblée Nationale in April 2013, but it wasn’t a smooth ride. Regular demonstrations against the law in Paris and across France gathered hundreds of thousands of people throughout the spring of 2013. Families marched with their children, often decked out in pink and blue, the colours of the so-called Manif pour Tous movement, a riff on the Mariage pour Tous name given to the new law.
At the time the law went through parliament, there was just one député of the 577 in the Assemblée Nationale who was openly gay. Franck Riester, pictured above, of the centre right UMP held that lonely honour.
Ten years later, how has the political representation of LGBT+ people changed in France? The answer is both a little and a lot.
By the end of the 2017-2022 parliament, eight deputes were openly gay or lesbian. That represents around 1.5% of the total. An improvement, yes, but still fairly low compared to many parliaments in Europe. For example, the UK House of Commons has 62 openly LGBT+ MPs, around 10% of the total.
Yet one area where things have changed significantly in France is at the ministerial level. In the government led by prime minister Elisabeth Borne, five ministers are openly gay or lesbian. They include the afore-mentioned Franck Riester, who has the grand title of ministre délégué auprès de la première ministre, chargé des relations avec le parlement. As well as him are former government spokesman Gabriel Attal (now at the economics ministry), Clément Beaune (transport) and in-the-spotlight employment minister Olivier Dussopt, who has been leading the charge on pushing through the unpopular pension reforms.
Their ranks were swelled earlier in April by Sarah El Haïry, a minister in the education department who became the first female minister to faire son coming out, as the French say. She was being interviewed by Forbes magazine and was asked how she handles attacks on social media. Her response was the quote below, where she says she tries not to read Twitter but when her family or her partner are affected, that hurts her. The key element was her use of the feminine ma compagne.
« J’essaye de ne pas lire car je sais que Twitter n’est pas la vraie vie. Mais quand ma famille ou ma compagne sont touchées, oui, ça me fait de la peine. Mais j’ai fait ce choix de l’action publique »
What’s noticeable about her announcement is how little attention it has received. While it’s been reported, it’s been in a low-key and matter-of-fact way. At the same time, the anniversary of the law has seen a number of députés who voted against it saying they would vote differently today. These include interior minister Gérald Darmanin, who said he made a mistake by voting against the law.
As in many countries, but certainly not all, being LGBT+ is these days less taboo and seemingly less likely to be a disadvantage when standing for election or getting a ministerial job in France.
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