MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - About 300 people were detained when a rally against France’s new gay marriage law sparked clashes between police and protestors, Le Parisien said early on Monday.
Thousands of protestors gathered in central Paris on Sunday to protest against the law allowing gay couples to marry and adopt children, signed by President Francois Hollande on May 18. The bill, making France the ninth European nation and the 14th country in the world to legalize “marriage for all,” has sparked mass protests throughout the nation.
Estimates of how many people took part vary, with police saying 150,000 people attended the protest and organizers putting the number of participants at more than one million.
When the rally was declared over, a group of 200-300 people started throwing stones and bottles at police. Law-enforcers used tear gas to break up the protesters.
Le Parisien reported in its timeline of the events that 293 people were held at the Esplanade des Invalides on Sunday evening, with 231 placed in detention.
France’s first gay marriage is due on May 29 in Montpellier, in the south, media reports said.
