PARIS, May 26 (RIA Novosti) – Some 150,000 people gathered in Paris on Sunday to take part in a rally against the country’s new gay marriage law, local police said.
Organizers said more than 1 million people participate in the march against the legislation.
Some 4,500 police have been deployed to maintain security in the city.
Police have arrested at least 19 people who staged a protest on the roof of France's ruling Socialist party’s headquarters. The protesters have called for the president’s resignation. Police used tear gas during the operation.
A total of 56 opponents of the controversial law were detained in the French capital on the eve of the protest staged by the members of the Manifestation For All movement, local media reported.
French President Francois Hollande signed the gay marriage bill into the law on May 18. France has become the ninth European nation and the 14th country in the world to legalize “marriage for all.” The bill has sparked mass protests throughout the nation.
France’s first gay marriage is due on May 29 in Montpellier, in the south, media reports said.
