Several thousand people took part in a “lesbian march” in Paris on Sunday demanding access to medically assisted procreation (PMA) for all women.
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The procession brought together 4,400 people according to the Paris police headquarters, 10,000 according to the organizers.
The demonstration took place in the wake of debates around a bioethics law and the Senate’s rejection in February of the extension of assisted reproduction to single women and female couples, provoking the ire of activists who denounced a “discount law” and a “lesbian voice totally absent” from the debates.
“We expected to bring together 500 people, there are 10,000, it’s really huge,” assured Marlène, member of the Lesbian Collages coordination at the initiative of the march. “I hope that everyone will remember this date, that people will remember that April 25 is lesbian visibility day,” added the young woman.
“Free PMA, for all, that is not negotiable”, “Macron hypocrite, lesbians go to Belgium!” were slogans echoed by the crowd.
The opening of the PMA to all women was a promise from President François Hollande (2012-2017) and then from Emmanuel Macron.
“Muslim and proud lesbians”, “feminism is theory, lesbianism is practice” or “we are the lesbian genius”, could we read in the forest of signs mixed with rainbow flags -sky floating above a procession.
Several personalities were involved in the demonstration, such as the director Céline Sciamma, the actress Adèle Haenel and the elected Parisian environmentalist and lesbian activist Alice Coffin, who saw in the event a “translation into manifestation” of a ” rise ”of the lesbian movement in recent years.