PARIS, France, January 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Between 15 and 20,000 peaceful demonstrators, among which were many young people under the age of 25 and delegations from across Europe, took part in the fifth annual March for Life in Paris on Sunday.
The participants began the March at Place de la République at 3p.m. and marched to the Place de la Bastille, behind a banner that read “Europe, defend life!” The sign was held by the leaders of French pro-life organizations and the heads of foreign delegations. The demonstrators chanted slogans such as: “Europe, yes – but the Europe of life!”
The demonstrators were gathered at the invitation of “En marche pour la vie!” which federates a dozen French pro-life organizations.
Among the participants in the March were 17 Catholic bishops.
The demonstrators are supported by a number of prominent personalities, such as the scholars Jacques Dupâquier and Pierre Chaunu, and 10 titular French Catholic bishops (among which those of Avignon, Orleans and Lourdes) as well as 7 auxiliary or emeritus bishops, and an honorary dean of an evangelical theology college.
The 2009 March for Life had a distinctly European theme: pro-lifers from several European countries joined the French demonstrators, with important Belgian, Italian and, for the first time, Irish delegations.
Cécile Edel, speaking for the organizers, called upon Europe to “return to her values of justice for all and equality under the law, by abolishing abortion in the 27 member-states of the European Union. The experiment with legal abortion has been a tragic failure.”
The demonstrators vowed to march again in 2010, for the 35th anniversary of the French law legalizing abortion.
The first Paris March for Life took place in January 2005 for the 30th anniversary of the 1975 law legalizing abortion in France.