This paper, which will use recent British debates to highlight the French singularity, attempts to explain this surprising success. Unlike what has often been claimed, it is not explained by the supposedly higher homophobia of the French. Rather, this paper argues we need to address two kinds of factors. First, a range of cultural and ideological factors facilitated the mobilization and its resonance within French society. This is particularly the case at a discursive level, for mobilizing frames fitted very well within older anxieties about kinship and family law and, to a lesser extent about the secular state.
However, these factors alone do not explain why the “Manif pour tous” mobilized so massively, and blocked significant parts of the bill. Both movement characteristics and the context must be taken into account. Although movement was intimately connected to the catholic church, it managed to build wider coalitions, and also modernized its repertoire of action. Second, unlike most expectations, a media space reopened in Fall 2012, fuelling public debate with new arguments. Third, the movement relied on powerful political allies, who used the mobilization for their own purposes. Fourth, divisions within the Socialist Party and the lack of presidential leadership were interpreted as additional incentives.
