By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

May 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The French government plans to use its upcoming presidency of the European Union to push for the universal decriminalization of sodomy, according to news reports.

It has also announced its endorsement of the “International Day Against Homophobia” (IDAHO), a day that commemorates the World Health Organization’s decision to declassify homosexual orientation as a mental disorder in 1990. Controversy about the decision continues to exist among mental health professionals and others.

According to the homosexualist website UK Gay News, the French government headed by conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was not inclined to support IDAHO until homosexual activist Louis-Georges Tin staged a theatrical protest at the Presidential Palace on May 16, which he called a “die-in”, while wearing a T-shirt containing a list of countries that prohibit sodomy.

Tin’s arrest and detention for several hours provoked protests from French socialist political parties and organizations. President Sarkozy’s Human Rights Minister, Rama Yade, capitulated to Tin completely and announced that the government would endorse IDAHO, a movement which Tin founded in 2005.

But Yade went further and also announced that the government would use its presidency of the European Union to push for the universal decriminalization of sodomy, both in the European Union and the United Nations.

She also promised to denounce any cases of “homophobia” she might encounter in other countries while she is traveling.

France will head the European Union beginning in July and lasting for six months.