The French government is making every effort to delegitimize those who protest same-sex marriage, who are seen as ideological enemies by the Socialists in power, political analyst John Laughland, who attended Sunday’s rally in Paris, told RT.
Central Paris saw outbursts over in violence over the weekend
when police cracked down on crowds protesting last month’s
legalization of same-sex marriage.
Though the 200,000 protesters estimated to have attended were
largely peaceful throughout the day, the rally ended with tear gas,
clashes and arrests.
John Laughland, from the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in
Paris, said it was “mad” for the French government to crack
down on the protest when President Francois Hollande’s popularity
is at its lowest level ever.
RT: So, why there was such a harsh response from the
French police towards the anti-gay demonstrators?
John Laughland: I think the French police under the
leadership of the Ministry of the Interior regard these
demonstrations as an ideological threat to their power – and indeed
that what’s they are. This is the biggest mass demonstrations
probably in the whole of French history, and certainly for the last
30 years or more. And they have been completely unexpected. The
government never expected so many people to turn out into the
street. And they realize that those people who were demonstrating
yesterday, as I say, they are ideological enemies. And there’s been
a lot of propaganda, encouraged again by government, saying that
the demonstrators are an extreme-wing gang.
RT: As you say, the Interior Ministry had fully expected
the far-right groups to join the protests and provoke clashes. Over
4,000 police were mobilized to maintain security, so why were they
unable to control the situation?
JL: I didn’t want to say that there are far-right groups.
This is the government propaganda. This is precisely the way that
the government has been seeking to delegitimize what is a massive
demonstration and is overwhelmingly peaceful. The fact that a few
young people ended up throwing a couple of bottles at the police –
not that I approve it – doesn’t mean as the government would like
to pretend that somehow dangerous, sinister forces work behind
these demonstrations. As far as I know, although there were clashes
and although there were a large number of arrests, I don’t believe
that there was any serious breakdown in law and order.
RT: The French government's extremely unpopular at the
moment, with president Hollande's rating hitting a record low of 24
percent. This doesn't seem like the best timing for a crackdown on
protesters.
JL: It’s completely mad. And, of course, it only encourages
the demonstrators and their supporters around the country to think
that the government is dictatorial. You know, they’ve gathered
together a million people, the vast majority of whom have
demonstrated peacefully, and yet they were met in the run-up to the
demonstration on Sunday with very hostile propaganda by the
government. The Ministry of the Interior said that children
shouldn’t come, there’s going to be violence and so on. The
impression we got very strongly, commentators and participants
alike, was that the government was doing everything it could to
delegitimize the demonstration and to discourage people from
coming.
RT:Hollande's election was hailed as a revival of
social democracy. What does the recent police action tell us about
its current state?
JL: It tells us that, whereas in economic policy, none of
the policies of Francois Hollande can be described as left-wing. He
campaigned, you’ll recall, against austerity, saying that he wasn’t
going to accept an austerity package. And, of course, as soon as he
was in power he implemented one. And this is having very serious
effects on French society. So, to substitute, if you like, for this
failure to pursue any kind of social or economic policy, he’s
instead putting through this law on gay marriage, which in the
words of its own authors will bring about a change of civilization.
It’s a kind of substitute, if you like, for the economic policies
that he refuses to implement. And as for the police, they’re acting
under government’s orders. The head of the Ministry of Interior
[Manuel Valls] was in police headquarters yesterday more or less
directing operations. So, they’re acting politically.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.