Editor's Note: "A Haunting Display" is part of Amanda Kantor's Summer 2013 series, Une Vue De La Ville.

It haunts me to think how they used that flag. (Amanda Kantor, Neon Tommy)

My friends and I were touring the Abbey of Saint Germain des Prés in the center of Paris when we heard drumming and shouting seeping through the stained glass windows. We rushed outside to see the demonstration and noticed a float featuring a rainbow flag. We assumed we were watching a gay pride parade, until a young woman told us that the spectacle was actually a protest of gay marriage and adoption by gay couples.

What we saw was an endless crowd of people parading in Place Saint Germain des Prés  carrying brightly colored signs, playing music and dancing on decorated floats. There we were, in the sixth arrondissement, catching a glimpse of the massive organized protest that would provoke heated debate on every local French television station for days to come.

It haunts me to think how they used that rainbow flag.

Every time I expected the parade to trickle out, the crowd would surge, and the music would get louder. A young woman's voice stood out just ahead of us. She was arguing with a demonstrator. Her name was Carmen Bachelot and she was kind enough to allow me to interview her about the demonstration. She described the hate and the violence that pervades the streets of France and the crimes against gay people that still occur. Her passion for the people of her country is palpable:

France signed the same-sex marriage law "Marriage Pour Tous" or "Marriage for All" on May 18 due in part to the support of French President Francois Hollande, who declared his intention to support the legislation in his campaign for the presidency last spring. With the passage of the law, protestors took to the streets for the fourth time since December.

(Amanda Kantor, Neon Tommy)

The anti-gay marriage / gay adoption organization is called "Manif Pour Tous," which means "Demonstration for All," a play on the name of the new legislation. Their pink and blue flags donned images of the famille traditionnelle, or "traditional family," with a man, woman, young boy and young girl. In order of increasing absurdity, their signs read: "Babies come from a man and a woman," "No genetically modified marriage," and "We want jobs, not homosexual marriage." Members of the parade claimed they were a part of a one million person demonstration, but police estimated 150,000 people were involved.

I watched a mom hand her daughter a sign that read: "Tous nés d'un homme et d'une femme," "All come from a man and a woman." For some people, this was a family affair, a Sunday stroll. I wanted to hear from one of the demonstrators directly, so I looked for a 20-something who'd likely speak English. The majority of demonstrators were over 40 or under 12, but after a search, I found Leonard and Marie. The young couple stood with me on the side lines, waved a blue sign, and patiently answered my questions. I asked them if the parade was organized by a religious group. Leonard said, "No, it is not based in religion; it's political."

Sure enough, my research led me to Frigide Barjot, a French humorist and the unofficial leader of "Manif Pour Tous," who explained, "I entered this fight because I knew that, otherwise, the protests would be dominated by the far right and the Catholic extremists. I wanted to give a voice to the thousands of ordinary people, not all of them people of the right, who believe that gay marriage, in the way that it has been imposed in France, is an attack on the family and foundations on which our society is built.”

Bruno Vercken, one of the local leaders, explains his position thus: "When a kid has lost his parents, probably, his dearest wish is to be adopted by a man and a woman. You, me are the sons of a man and a woman and in this law there’s a deep lie – embedded in the law – is to make people believe in the future that they can be born from two men or two women."

(Amanda Kantor, Neon Tommy)

This is the supposed "moderate," "democratic," and "gay-friendly" reasoning the "ordinary people" are employing.

Much of the demonstration was geared toward the defamation of President Hollande. Leonard mentioned that in the 2012 election, "A lot of people did not vote." He shook his head. "Therefore, [Hollande] does not accurately represent the people of France. He ignores the people."

Part of their frustration is that Hollande has failed to address the protests at all. The new President has had a rough year—earlier this month, tens of thousands of left-wing demonstrators protested against the high unemployment rate. The administration faces unrest from both sides of the aisle. 

It was a Sunday... the bells of the Abbey behind us intercepted the clamor ahead, like the clashing of two passionate voices, neither of which could be put to rest.

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