GAY MARRIAGE OPPONENTS MARCH IN PARIS

Paris riot police have fought back crowds who pushed their way on to the French capital's landmark Champs-Elysees avenue as part of a huge protest against a draft law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including conservative activists, children, retirees and priests converged on the city on Sunday in a last-ditch bid to stop the bill, many bused in from the French provinces.

The lower house of France's parliament approved the "marriage for everyone" bill last month with a large majority, and the measure faces a vote in the Senate next month.

Both houses are dominated by French President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party and its allies.

Sustained protests led by opposition conservatives in the traditionally Catholic country have eroded support for the draft law in recent months, and organisers hope Sunday's march will weigh on the Senate debate.

The first few hours of the protest were peaceful. But as it was meant to be winding down, about 100 youths tried to push past police barricades onto the Champs-Elysees, the avenue that cuts through central Paris and draws throngs of tourists daily.

In an indication of the sensitivity of the issue, protesters had been barred from marching on the avenue.

Police officers wrangled with the youths and then fired teargas to force them back. Gaining momentum, more and more protesters took side streets to reach the avenue, blocking a key intersection on the route to the president's Elysee Palace.

Source: Al Jazeera...More...