On May 18, France became the 12th nation to legalize same-sex marriage when President Francois Hollande signed into law a bill that allows same-sex couples to both marry and adopt children.
But the bill’s passage didn’t come without a serious fight—a fight that may not be over yet.

In the months leading up to a Parliamentary vote, demonstrations drew as many as a million to a million-and-a-half French demonstrators in Paris and at French embassies around the world. The wave of protests has surprised observers everywhere.

What is going on here? Are these not the folks infamous for a laissez faire attitude toward sex? A nation of lovers, not fighters? What passion is fueling these protests?

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