{{A candidate looking to lead France’s opposition UMP party has called for demonstrations against the Socialist government’s policies, including plans to legalise gay marriage.}}
But far-right leader Marine Le Pen has threatened to steal the show.
Marine Le Pen, the head of France’s far-right National Front (FN), has said her party would join anti-Socialist demonstrations proposed by the head of the centre-right opposition UMP party, dealing a significant blow to his credibility ahead of a leadership contest.
Jean-François Copé has said that if he wins the battle for the party’s presidency against former Prime Minister François Fillon on November 18 – which polls say looks unlikely – he would launch street protests against Socialist policies that threaten the “pillars of society”.
Chief among these supposed threats is a proposed law to legalise gay marriage and give greater parenting rights to same-sex couples, including adoption, which has drawn the anger of French conservative groups.
In late October, pro-life group Alliance Vita, which says it has no religious or political affiliation, organised demonstrations in 75 towns and cities across France against the proposed law, under the banner “Un Maman et Un Papa” (one mummy, one daddy).
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