La Manif pour tous
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La Manif pour tous | |
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| Named after | Mariage pour tous |
|---|---|
| Formation | November 2, 2012 |
| Founder | Frigide Barjot, Albéric Dumont, Ludovine de La Rochère |
| Founded at | Paris |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | Promotion of traditional marriage and nuclear family. Opposition to same-sex marriage, adoption, and "gender ideology". |
| Location |
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Region served | Europe |
| Methods | Protests, reports, policy proposals |
President | Ludovine de La Rochère |
Vice-president | Albéric Dumont [fr] |
| Website | www |
| Part of a series on |
| Conservatism in France |
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The Syndicat de la famille ('Union for the Family'), better known under its original name of La Manif pour tous (LMPT), is a nonprofit organization and political movement based in France[1] which is responsible for most of the anti-gender movement and LGBTQ rights opposition demonstrations and actions that took place between 2012 and 2013, against the legalization of same-sex marriage in France (better known as mariage pour tous—"marriage for all"), as well as against the same-sex adoption in France.[2]
Since the law was enacted in May 2013, the organization's demands have remained the same:[3] opposition to marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, to assisted reproductive technology in the absence of a father for the child, and to all forms of gestational surrogacy (including for male-female couples).[4] The movement supports father-mother-child filiation and opposes what they refer to as "gender ideology".[5]
Described by Le Monde as bringing together numerous organizations, of which the main ones are almost all religious and mainly linked to Roman Catholicism,[1] and supported in its calls for public demonstrations by many members of the right wing and the far-right in France,[6] the group identified itself as apolitical and non-denominational[7] before it became a political party itself in April 2015.[8][9]
Internal divisions resulted in the successive departures of its founders Béatrice Bourges, Frigide Barjot, and Xavier Bongibault.
Founding and name
[edit]The name La Manif pour tous means "Protest for all" and was named after the French expression Le mariage pour tous ("marriage for all") which was the popular term used in France to promote same sex marriage, and also to refer to the Civil solidarity pact (PaCS), the 1999 French law permitting civil union between same-sex partners.[10] The organization formally changed its name in 2023.
Goals and methods
[edit]
Some of the objectives of La Manif pour tous include:
- demanding that the gay-marriage act be repealed,
- protesting against what they call the French government's "familyphobia",
- protesting against the government's alleged teaching of "gender theory" in French schools, or plans to impose sex education starting in kindergarten.[10]
An organized group called for a boycott in 2014 involving pulling children from schools one day a month to protest against the alleged anti-family actions of the government.[10]
Surrogacy is currently illegal in France for everyone; In vitro fertilization and other birth-assistive technology is available, but only to heterosexual couples. The government says it has no plans to change the situation, and Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared his opposition to surrogacy in all forms. Regarding "gender theory" or sex education in pre-schools the government says they are false rumors created on purpose by conservatives with ties to far-right groups.[10]
Transformation into political party
[edit]After having long presented itself as an "apolitical organization",[11] La Manif Pour Tous officially transformed itself into a political party on 24 April 2015. However, they denied any intention of fielding candidates in elections, and described their change in status as simply a "technical decision". According to analysts, the change was actually motivated by financial considerations, as donors to political groups automatically benefit from substantial tax deductions.[12][13]
In March 2023, the organization changed its name to Syndicat de la famille ('Union for the Family'). Ludovine de La Rochère shared the presidency with Albéric Dumont, former general coordinator of La Manif pour tous, and whose private security company, Ultreïa, was a service provider to right-wing French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour's campaign.[14][15]
Expansion in Europe
[edit]La Manif pour Tous inspired the creation of branches of the French organization or similar, unaffiliated groups in other European countries:
- in Croatia, LMPT inspired formation of In the name of the family [hr; sh],[16][17] led by Vincent John Batarelo [hr];
- Italy,[18][19]
- Finland, under the name Genuine Marriage Citizens' Initiative [fi];
- Demo für Alle [de] (Protest for All) in Germany;[citation needed];
- in Russia, Vladimir Putin's political party adopted the group's emblem to create a new "heterosexual flag".[20]
Criticism
[edit]La Manif pour tous has been criticized as homophobic and using children to make a political point.[21]
See also
[edit]- Anti-gender movement
- Catholic Church and homosexuality
- Catholic Church in France
- Christian views on marriage
- Civitas (movement)
- Coalition pour la vie et la famille
- Feminism in France
- Gender roles in Christianity
- Human rights in France
- Intersex rights in France
- LGBT adoption in Europe
- LGBT culture in Paris
- LGBT history in France
- LGBT rights in Europe
- LGBT rights in France
- LGBT rights in the European Union
- List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality
- Marriage in the Catholic Church
- Right-wing politics
- Same-sex marriage in France
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Derrière la grande illusion de la 'Manif pour tous'". Le Monde. 21 March 2013.
- ^ Clavel, Geoffroy (18 May 2013). "Mariage Gay et Violences: la Manif Pour Tous débordée. Comment en est on arrivé là" [Gay Marriage and Violence... The Manif pour Tous Overwhelmed. How Did It Get to This Point?]. HuffPost (in French).
- ^ "La 'manif pour tous' gagne le pari de la mobilisation". Le Figaro (in French). 17 November 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ Mouillard, Sylvain (3 October 2014). "'Un papa, une maman', deux ans de slogans de la Manif pour tous". Libération.fr (in French). Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ Harsin, Jayson (1 March 2018). "Post-Truth Populism: The French Anti-Gender Theory Movement and Cross-Cultural Similarities". Communication, Culture and Critique. 11 (1): 35–52. doi:10.1093/ccc/tcx017. ISSN 1753-9129. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "L'extrême droite au premier rang de la Manif pour tous ce dimanche" [The far right at the forefront of the Manif pour tous this Sunday]. 20 minutes (in French). 2 October 2014.
- ^ "La Manif pour Tous est apolitique". La Manif pur tous.fr (in French). La Manif pour Tous. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2014..
- ^ "La Manif pour tous devient un parti politique" [The Manif pour tous becomes a political party]. Le Monde (in French). 24 April 2015.
- ^ Boudet, Alexandre (16 October 2016). "Pourquoi la manif pour tous n'est jamais devenue un parti politique" [Why La Manif pour tous never became a political party]. HuffPost (in French).
- ^ a b c d Ball, Sam (5 October 2014). "Protesters take to streets over French govt's 'familyphobia'". France 24. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ Morabito, Léa (2013). "The French Spring of la Manif pour tous: Conservative Protests against Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption in France" (PDF).
- ^ "La Manif pour tous devient un parti politique" [The Manif pour tous becomes a political party]. Le Monde (in French). 24 April 2015.
- ^ Clavel, Geoffroy (24 April 2015). "La Manif pour tous devient un parti politique mais pas "pour présenter des candidats"" [The Manif pour tous becomes a political party but not "to present candidates"]. HuffPost (in French).
- ^ "La Manif pour tous devient le Syndicat de la famille". La Croix (in French). 27 March 2023. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ "Dix ans du mariage pour tous : qu'est devenue la génération d'activistes née de l'opposition à la loi?" [Ten years of marriage for all: what has become of the generation of activists born from opposition to the law?]. Le Monde (in French). 22 April 2023.
- ^ Despic-Popovic, Hélène (14 July 2013). "La Manif pour tous fait des émules chez les conservateurs croates" [The Manif pour tous is gaining traction among Croatian conservatives]. Libération.fr (in French).
- ^ Katia Bitsch (27 November 2013). "Un référendum anti mariage gay en Croatie". Le Mouv'.fr (in French). Retrieved 2 March 2014.
La Manif Pour Tous fait des émules jusqu'en Croatie. Vice Batarelo reconnaît s'être inspiré de la mobilisation française pour créer son collectif Au nom de la famille.
- ^ "Italie : La Manif pour tous s'exporte" [Italy: The Manif pour tous is exported]. Le Figaro (in French). 26 July 2013.
- ^ Pézerat, Thibaut (26 July 2013). "La manif pour tous créé une branche italienne et envoie ses militants manifester à Rome" [The Manif pour tous creates an Italian branch and sends its activists to demonstrate in Rome]. Europe 1 (in French).
- ^ Sharkov, Damien (8 July 2015). "Putin's party unveils Russian 'straight pride' flag". Newsweek.
- ^ "Frigide Barjot regrette l'homophobie engendrée par les Manif pour tous" [Frigide Barjot regrets the homophobia generated by the Manif pour tous]. L'Express (in French). 26 August 2014.
