The Paris March for Life

Présentation de la Marche pour la Vie à destination de nos amis étrangers (en anglais).

Since its first edition in 2005, the Paris March for Life has a rallying point for pro-lifers from all across Europe. Every year, it attracts more delegations from European countries other than France : Italy, Spain, Belgium, the UK, Poland, Switzerland, Germany and Ireland among others. 

In 2005, French pro-life organizations came together to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1975 law legalizing abortion, under the slogan “30 years is enough !” The success was such, especially among young people, that it became an annual march. Non-denominational and non-partisan, the march brings together Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical and secular organizations on a common platform: defending every human life.

In 2010, the march will be held on Sunday, 17 January - the exact day 35^th anniversary of the law legalizing abortion. French pro-lifers will call upon their countrymen to reflect upon the disastrous result of 35 years of legal abortion: the unspeakable sufferings of millions of women, and the blatant injustice towards millions of our unborn brothers and sisters. Despite having one of the very highest contraception rates in the world, France today has the second highest abortion rate in Western Europe, second only to Sweden – a situation even the sponsor of France’s 1975 abortion legalization law, Simone Veil, has deemed “distressing”.

The way forward is one of compassion and justice: compassion by providing expectant mothers with the real choice, that of preserving their unborn life; and justice with the comprehensive abolition of abortion.

In 2009, 15 to 20,000 pro-lifers took part in the Marche pour la Vie. In 2010, organizers are hoping for an even greater success, with two new organizations joining in: the dynamic Pro-Life Students, a newly created movement that has already opened chapters in many French universities; and Soignants Porteurs d’Esperance, which brings together pro-life members of the medical professions. 

Also, for the first time, the march will be hosting Dolores Meehan, representing the San Francisco Walk for Life, as a keynote speaker.

 If you are interested in joining or covering the Paris March for Life, please contact : edelfr@wanadoo.fr or paul@ginouxdefermon.com