Catholic newspaper La Croix suggests that the previously criticised Justice Minister Christine Taubira has earned the esteem of both colleagues and adversaries with her tireless defence of the Gay Marriage and Adoption Bill, but reports right-wing claims that she remains unconvinced about parts of the bill.
Image: Michel Euler/AP, Justice Minister Christiane Taubira leaves the Elysée Palace after a cabinet meeting, 30th January 2013.
Article source: “« Mariage pour tous », le débat qui a lancé Christiane Taubira”, Corinne Laurent, La Croix, 11/02/2013.
Today the French National Assembly votes on a bill to grant marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. The parliamentary debate of the bill has seen Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira gain in stature. Next destination for the bill: the Senate, which today will hear from France's religious leaders.
Throughout the one-hundred-and-ten-hour debate, Christiane Taubira, 61, has sat on the government's front bench in the National Assembly and has tirelessly defended the legalisation of gay marriage and adoption. These two weeks of occasionally heated discussions between the majority party and the opposition have pushed to the forefront a politician who had been regularly criticized by the right-wing since her appointment as Minister of Justice. During the 2012 legislative elections, UMP General Secretary Jean-François Copé issued a warning to those thinking of casting a vote for the Front National, saying: “When you vote for the Front National, you get the left elected” and “you get Taubira."
On January 29th, hours after the debate over the bill had begun, the opposition was still chanting “Resign! Resign!”, following the release of a government memorandum granting French citizenship to children born to surrogate mothers outside France. But right from her opening speech, without so much as a glance at her notes, Taubira has developed a style of her own, earning her a standing ovation from left-wing députés.
Throughout the debate, she has drawn on her passion for literature to carefully weigh and “measure her words” on this delicate social issue. With laser-like attention to detail and a lyrical turn of phrase, the Minister of Justice has, by turns, been calm and combative, coaxing and firm, with her adversaries. Minister for Parliamentary Relations Alain Vidalies pays tribute to her: “From a legal standpoint, she knows the subject like the back of her hand, and her political determination is unquestionable. She is talented, persuasive, and passionate.”
Several opposition députés have felt the lash of her tongue, such as Christian Jacob (the leader of the UMP in the National Assembly) and his colleague Élie Aboud for using the words “pink triangle” and “black triangle”, but also former judo champion David Douillet, whom she reminded of the controversial anti-gay remarks in his autobiography. But the tension has also been broken by lighter moments, like when both left- and right-wing députés wished her a happy birthday. Or when she and Philippe Gosselin, one of the opposition's main speakers, broke out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
Olivier Faure, a PS député in the Seine-et-Marne département, points out that “she may be a discovery for the public, but her talent comes as no surprise to us”. In fact, Christiane Taubira has the experience of a seasoned parliamentarian: a law recognizing the slave trade and slavery as a crime against humanity even bears her name (la Loi Taubira). She also ran for president in 2002.
Taubira's political opponents have a good deal of “respect” for her. “She likes to be charming and convincing”, says Philippe Gosselin, who is a député in the Manche département. “Seeing through her outer shell is a worthwhile endeavour; she is surly, stern, and prickly, but behind the prickly exterior there’s a heart.”
UMP député Jean-Frédéric Poisson, who took over Christine Boutin's seat in the Yvelines département's tenth district, admits that “she has a lot of determination and is immensely talented. Taubira is a tough opponent. She is very theatrical, but sometimes gives in to the temptation to go overboard and try for a softer, more unifying style.” According to Poisson, “she tries to strike an emotional chord when she is uncomfortable with the arguments. She is comfortable with the basic elements of the bill, but not with some of its provisions, as we have shown with the illogical leap from gay marriage to surrogacy.”
Philippe Gosselin is of the same opinion: “at the end of the day, I'm not convinced that the bill really appeals to her. It would be going too far to set her up as an icon. It is too soon for us to associate her with great names like Robert Badinter and Simone Veil. Only time will tell.”
Translation: Adrien Martel and Charles Eddy
Editing: Sam Trainor