Although police and organizers put the exact number of protesters in question, there's no denying large crowds turned out across France on Sunday to protest against same-sex couples having children -- especially via in vitro fertilization or surrogacy, reports RT News.
Protesting under the banner "Manif pour Tous" (Demonstrations for All), an estimated 500,000 conservatives showed up in Paris alone. Many waved pink, blue and white flags in the familiar tricolor configuration of the French national flag. Some held signs imploring people to support a heterosexual monopoly on parenthood.
Meanwhile in Bordeaux, a city 360 miles southwest of Paris, police estimated 7,500 people showed up to protest equal parental rights for same-sex couples. Organizers put their numbers at closer to 30,000.
While polls indicate a strong majority of French people support same-sex marriage and equal rights for LGBTs, polls are less clear on parenting. Although adoption for same-sex couples is legal, surrogacy is still illegal in France -- a prohibition that effectively precludes gay men from using in vitro fertilization as a means to become parents.
However, a French court recently found in favor of a lesbian couple who wanted both partners to be legally recognized as adoptive parents to their child conceived in vitro.
The protests follow a loss for antigay forces last year when a legislative vote granted marriage rights to same-sex couples. President Francois Hollande met the 179-157 vote with a boldly affirmed signature, making France the 14th nation in the world to embrace marriage equality.
Still, significant antigay protests have continued in this still very Catholic nation. In fact, the government was been concerned about the violent tone of some groups protesting equality in France.
The good news for French people who prize equality for all, including LGBTs, is that they are not alone. According to RT, a poll researched by Ifop shows only 31 percent of French people support the "values and ideas" of Manif pour Tous.
Check out these vivid images of what intolerance looked like in France this weekend:
