French couple claims police violence at marriage march

Paris, France, Apr 4, 2013 / 14:59 pm

A couple in France is reporting acts of violence by police officers against participants in a recent march to defend marriage against redefinition by the French government.

In an email sent to CNA, Benoit and Marie Dubois described violent actions that they claimed to witness at a March 24 pro-family demonstration.

"The government allowed a peaceful demonstration made up mostly of families comprised grandparents, parents and children, to be violently repressed," the Duboises said. 

"Without any warning and at point blank, they used tear gas, pointed their guns at small children and various young people were beaten for no reason at all."

More than 1 million people took part in the March for All to voice opposition to French President Francois Hollande's plan to impose homosexual marriage and adoption on the country.

Shortly after the march, The Telegraph ran a story with pictures taken by Getty Images displaying police spraying tear gas on protestors.

It is unclear whether the violence was provoked by the actions of the demonstrators.

While the Duboises acknowledged that acts of vandalism sometimes occur during demonstrations, they asserted that "none of this happened" at the March for All.

"Instead, this was a peaceful but firm demonstration in order to speak out, and the crowd it drew was so large that there was not enough space in the small area designated by police for the event," they said.

"How did the police respond? With violence that was absolutely unnecessary," they argued.

The couple further asserted that the French government has "illegally rejected a petition signed by 700,000 people" and is relying for help on the mass media to redefine marriage in the country.