The Gay-Marriage Flap;The Government Is out of Step with Public Opinion At the Begles town hall,near Bordeaux,Stephane Chapin and Bertrand Charpentier stepped out of a chocolate-colored Rolls-Royce-one in a pinstripe black suit,the other in white.Watching uneasily was the local mayor,Noel Mamere.He had presided over many weddings,but never one like this.Riot police faced off against protesters. The wedding vows,closed with a kiss,played repeated on the nightly news.Mamere himselfwept openly. The first gay marriage in French history,earlier this month,has highlighted a cultural chasm,revealing that touchstone religious and social issues can still flare up in strikingly secular France.Since announcing that he would oversee the wedding,Mamere has been condemned by angry churchgoers,ben sent a package of feces and received so many death threats that the Interior Ministry assigned him a bodyguard.Serge Dassault,owner of the conservative French daily le Figaro,penned an op-ed piece accusing people like Mamere of trying to "destroy the basis of our society"and the concept of family.The Justice Ministry launched efforts to nullify the marriage,and last week Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin signed a disciplinary measure suspending Mamere from his mayoral duties for one month
The Gay-Marriage Flap; The Government Is out of Step with Public Opinion At the Begles town hall, near Bordeaux, Stephane Chapin and Bertrand Charpentier stepped out of a chocolate-colored Rolls-Royce—one in a pinstripe black suit, the other in white. Watching uneasily was the local mayor, Noel Mamere. He had presided over many weddings, but never one like this. Riot police faced off against protesters. The wedding vows, closed with a kiss, played repeated on the nightly news. Mamere himself wept openly. The first gay marriage in French history, earlier this month, has highlighted a cultural chasm, revealing that touchstone religious and social issues can still flare up in strikingly secular France. Since announcing that he would oversee the wedding, Mamere has been condemned by angry churchgoers, ben sent a package of feces and received so many death threats that the Interior Ministry assigned him a bodyguard. Serge Dassault, owner of the conservative French daily le Figaro, penned an op-ed piece accusing people like Mamere of trying to “destroy the basis of our society” and the concept of family. The Justice Ministry launched efforts to nullify the marriage, and last week Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin signed a disciplinary measure suspending Mamere from his mayoral duties for one month
While even some socialist leaders have come out against gay marriage,they see the government's sanctioning of Mamere as extreme. The respected center-left daily le Monde,which has expressed reservations about gay marriage,last week called the suspension a "government blunder"and mocked Villepin for using such measures against a man who has not taken bribes,pilfered state money or been linked to financial scandals-as have a member of top government officials.And by progressive European standards,Mamere is hardly pushingtheenvelope. Belgium and the Netherlands already celebrate gay marriages. Sweden and Spain are expected to do so by the end of the year.A Gallup poll of the 15 European Union nations last year found 57 percent support, with virtually identical numbers in France.The bottom line is that it's France's government which is out of step with society,not gays who wish to marry,says Mamere,who received 5 percent of France's presidential vote as the Green Party candidate in 2002 As is often the case in France,the future may be found in the past The cultural battle over civil unions that roiled France in the 1990s saw religious and conservative groups screaming that such unions,whether straight or gay,threatened the sanctity of marriage,family values and even French national identity.Before civil unions became legal,the nation endured seven years of legal drafting,two years of parliamentary
While even some socialist leaders have come out against gay marriage, they see the government’s sanctioning of Mamere as extreme. The respected center-left daily le Monde, which has expressed reservations about gay marriage, last week called the suspension a “government blunder” and mocked Villepin for using such measures against a man who has not taken bribes, pilfered state money or been linked to financial scandals—as have a member of top government officials. And by progressive European standards, Mamere is hardly pushing the envelope. Belgium and the Netherlands already celebrate gay marriages. Sweden and Spain are expected to do so by the end of the year. A Gallup poll of the 15 European Union nations last year found 57 percent support, with virtually identical numbers in France. The bottom line is that it’s France’s government which is out of step with society, not gays who wish to marry, says Mamere, who received 5 percent of France’s presidential vote as the Green Party candidate in 2002. As is often the case in France, the future may be found in the past. The cultural battle over civil unions that roiled France in the 1990s saw religious and conservative groups screaming that such unions, whether straight or gay, threatened the sanctity of marriage, family values and even French national identity. Before civil unions became legal, the nation endured seven years of legal drafting, two years of parliamentary
arguments and the protests of 100,000 angry conservatives and/or pious Roman Catholics in front of the National Assembly."They completely missed the point,"says socialist M.P.Patrick Bloche,who coauthored the legislation."We just wanted to offer a new legal framework within which a couple could organize its life.They accused us of killing marriage." In a historically Catholic country,such passions might have been expected.The real surprise is the progress since then.The year before civil unions became law,in 1999,just 49 percent of French people were supportive.Two years later,with French civilization still on its feet,70 percent backed them.Today even conservative French leaders who once lambasted the unions have discovered their merits,though chiefly as a bulwark against gay marriage.France's 71-year-old President Jacques Chirac recently felt the need to acknowledge the inadequacies of civil unions with an eye toward improving-not getting rid of-such pacts "Experience show,"Chirac told jouralists,that the civil-union legislation "has not provided all the guarantees,all the solutions to problems linked to human rights.” Perhaps aware of the backlash from the original civil-union debate, Interior Minister Villepin asserts that he is merely enforcing French law. For his part,the mayor maintains that the French legal code does not require that marriage be between a man and a woman,and on June 29 he will ask an administrative court in Bordeaux to void his suspension on the
arguments and the protests of 100,000 angry conservatives and/or pious Roman Catholics in front of the National Assembly. “They completely missed the point,” says socialist M.P. Patrick Bloche, who coauthored the legislation. “ We just wanted to offer a new legal framework within which a couple could organize its life. They accused us of killing marriage.” In a historically Catholic country, such passions might have been expected. The real surprise is the progress since then. The year before civil unions became law, in 1999, just 49 percent of French people were supportive. Two years later, with French civilization still on its feet, 70 percent backed them. Today even conservative French leaders who once lambasted the unions have discovered their merits, though chiefly as a bulwark against gay marriage. France’s 71-year-old President Jacques Chirac recently felt the need to acknowledge the inadequacies of civil unions with an eye toward improving—not getting rid of –such pacts. “Experience show,” Chirac told journalists, that the civil-union legislation “has not provided all the guarantees, all the solutions to problems linked to human rights.” Perhaps aware of the backlash from the original civil-union debate, Interior Minister Villepin asserts that he is merely enforcing French law. For his part, the mayor maintains that the French legal code does not require that marriage be between a man and a woman, and on June 29 he will ask an administrative court in Bordeaux to void his suspension on the
ground that it usurps the authority of the courts.In fact,Villepin has overreached before,as then he recently attempted to expel a Muslim imam accused of preaching hate.A court overruled him-a setback for a French government determined to crack down on alleged Islamic radicals If Mamere wins,other mayors may follow his leap into civil disobedience.If he loses,he promises to bypass France's conservative leaders and take the gay-marriage issue to the European Court of Human Rights.The goal would be a decision by 2007,the year France elects a successor to its aging President Chirac.The socialists,aware of overwhelming support for gay marriage among young people,are likely to choose an advocate.Either way,by a change of government or a ruling from the European court,Mamere awaits the day when all French people can marry freely-and when they have a government more in tune with thetimes Reading comprehension 1.The local mayor,Noel Mamere felt uneasy because A.the wedding vows had been broadcasted lively for several times B.theriot police had got ready to fight against many protesters C.the first gay marriage in French history had been duly held D.the mayor himselfhad suffered from various kinds of weddings 2.Mamere was suspended from his mayoral duties because
ground that it usurps the authority of the courts. In fact, Villepin has overreached before, as then he recently attempted to expel a Muslim imam accused of preaching hate. A court overruled him—a setback for a French government determined to crack down on alleged Islamic radicals. If Mamere wins, other mayors may follow his leap into civil disobedience. If he loses, he promises to bypass France’s conservative leaders and take the gay-marriage issue to the European Court of Human Rights. The goal would be a decision by 2007, the year France elects a successor to its aging President Chirac. The socialists, aware of overwhelming support for gay marriage among young people, are likely to choose an advocate. Either way, by a change of government or a ruling from the European court, Mamere awaits the day when all French people can marry freely—and when they have a government more in tune with the times. Reading comprehension 1. The local mayor, Noel Mamere felt uneasy because . A. thewedding vows had been broadcasted lively for several times B. the riot police had got ready to fight against many protesters C. the first gay marriage in French history had been duly held D. the mayor himself had suffered from various kinds of weddings 2. Mamere was suspended from his mayoral duties because
A.Serge Dassault drafted a newspaper article to criticize him severely B.Dominique de Villepin had signed a clear stated disciplinary measure C.the Justice Ministry had tried their bestto make the marriage illegal D.as local mayor Mamere had already destroyed the concept of family 3.By saying that "Mamere is hardly pushing the envelope",the authors means A.Mamere could hardly meet the developing Europeans standards B.Mamere had expressedhis extreme ideas on gay marriage C.Mamere had been closely related to those financial scandals D.Mamere had done somethingreasonable without disobeying laws 4.Accordingto President Jacque Chirac,civil union A.had got its weakness but the formal agreement could be improved B.had legalized the cultural battle and parliamentary arguments C.had supplied all the guarantees and solutions related to human rights D.had threatened the sacred nature of marriage,family values and national identity 5.By the year 2007,the goal would be A.a complete support for the gay marriage among youngsters B.free marriage for all the French people,be they straightor gay
A. Serge Dassault drafted a newspaper article to criticize him severely B. Dominique de Villepin had signed a clear stated disciplinary measure C. the Justice Ministry had tried their best to make the marriage illegal D. as local mayor Mamere had already destroyed the concept of family 3. By saying that “Mamere is hardly pushing the envelope”, the authors means . A. Mamere could hardly meet the developing Europeans standards B. Mamere had expressed his extreme ideas on gay marriage C. Mamere had been closely related to those financial scandals D. Mamere had done something reasonable without disobeying laws 4. According to President Jacque Chirac, civil union . A. had got its weakness but the formal agreement could be improved B. had legalized the cultural battle and parliamentary arguments C. had supplied all the guarantees and solutions related to human rights D. had threatened the sacred nature of marriage, family values and national identity 5. By the year 2007, the goal would be . A. a complete support for the gay marriage among youngsters B. free marriage for all the French people, be they straight or gay
C.anopen-minded governmentactively enforcing French law D.an administrative court taking the gay-marriage issue seriously
C. an open-minded government actively enforcing French law D. an administrative court taking the gay-marriage issue seriously
