The Guardian reports:

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

The lower house of France’s
parliament approved the “marriage for everyone” bill last month with a
large majority, and it now faces a vote in the Senate next month. Both
houses are dominated by President François Hollande’s Socialist party
and its allies. Sustained protests led by opposition conservatives in
this 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 on to the Champs-Elysées. In an
indication of the sensitivity of the issue, protesters had been barred
from marching on the avenue that cuts through central Paris and draws
throngs of tourists daily… tear gas was needed to control the crowd. 

The crowd was estimated at 300,000 people, though organizers said it was 1.2 million.

 Opinion polls show a vast majority are 
in favor.

The bill passed the National Assembly last month and will probably  pass
the Senate in April.

France was among the most advanced
countries in the world when it passed a civil union law in 1999 granting
same sex couple the same benefits as straight couples (including
immigration and social security).

Watch a video clip.