The speech that made Taubira an icon
A minister, a speech, a poem: how Christiane Taubira shaped France's debate on marriage equality in 2013.
On 29 January 2013, Christiane Taubira steps up to the lectern in the French National Assembly. The justice minister is opening the debate on a law that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt. Until that day, many regard the politician from French Guiana as a marginal figure on the left. When she leaves the lectern, she is an icon.
Taubira speaks freely, barely glancing at her notes. She attacks the conservative opposition head-on. It was hypocritical not to recognise homosexual couples and their children, and selfish to believe that an institution of the Republic could be reserved for only some of its citizens. Then she gets personal: the opponents' children and grandchildren would one day read the records of this debate out of curiosity. They would find it very uncomfortable.
Towards the end, she stresses every word: "We are proud of what we are doing." Finally, she quotes the Guianese poet Léon-Gontran Damas and compares the law to a rose that finally blooms on the Eiffel Tower. The deputies of the left rise from their seats.
The mood in the country is heated. For months the "Manif pour tous" movement has been mobilising against the plan, and the opposition tables more than five thousand amendments. All the louder is the echo of Taubira's appearance. She is compared with Simone Veil, who fought for the right to abortion, and with Robert Badinter, who abolished the death penalty. Even opponents of the law pay her respect. A gay and lesbian online magazine prints T-shirts reading "#TeamTaubira".
In May 2013, marriage equality comes into force. Taubira herself calls it a "reform of civilisation". Her speech is still regarded as one of the great moments of the French parliament.