NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Standard bearer against gay marriage

Independent
14 Jun, 2013 05:30 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Spokeswoman says activist group intends to tackle politicians on human values

Beatrice Bourges is the most dangerous woman in France, according to the French Government. Au contraire, says Ms Bourges. It is the Socialist government of France which is a danger to humanity - hell-bent, she says, on "destroying the foundations of civilisation".

Ms Bourges is the spokeswoman for Printemps Francais (French Spring), an amorphous movement, allegedly linked to the Catholic traditionalist, far right, which has spun off from the powerful street protests in France against same-sex marriage.

The French Interior minister, Manuel Valls, is considering outlawing Printemps Francais after it urged its supporters to "target" pro-gay-marriage politicians, media and pressure groups. This amounted, he said, to an appeal to violence "in defiance of democracy".

Ms Bourges, 50, giggles at suggestions that she is a "violent, Catholic fundamentalist".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I have been divorced. How can I be a Catholic extremist? I have never voted for the far right. I am passionately opposed to violence of any kind," she said.

"Printemps Francais is more a state of mind than a movement. We urge transgressive, but non-violent, resistance. That is to say that we intend to defy a state which has imposed a law which will distort and corrupt the true foundations of human society and civilisation.

"When we speak of 'targets,' we are not advocating violence or terrorism. We are talking of passive resistance, like Gandhi. We will, for instance, make the lives of ministers a misery whenever they travel or appear in public."

Ms Bourges, wearing jeans, a grey jumper, a white t-shirt and a short black raincoat, could be a "maman" waiting outside a school in one of the well-heeled western arrondissements of Paris. Or she could be a self-employed businesswoman.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She is both. She is a business consultant and long-time campaigner on family and Catholic issues and a divorced and re-married mother of two. Friendly and soft-spoken, she expounds an elaborate conspiracy theory. "Human values" are threatened by a "programme", driven by a broad coalition of leftists, feminists, gay lobbyists, freemasons and international capitalists. The gay marriage law is a by-product of "gender theory", imported from the United States, which seeks to eradicate "maleness" and "femaleness" and make us all socially gender-free, liberal-libertarian, rootless, amoral, global consumers.

She does not appear especially dangerous, though the Interior minister, Mr Valls, is not the only person to insist that she is.

Beatrice Bourges used to be one of the four spokespeople for the broad, popular movement against same-sex marriage, "Le Manif pour Tous". She was kicked out in March after encouraging a section of militant protesters to break away from an official march and defy a ban on demonstrations on the Champs Elysees.

Frigide Barjot, the satirist-turned-activist who has become the best known face of "Manif pour Tous", accuses Printemps Francais of being "aggressive".

Discover more

World

Religion stopping France from embracing gay marriage

31 May 05:30 PM
World

Gay marriage campaign: 'You're having a lesbian'

07 Jun 07:38 AM
World

US boost for gay marriage

27 Jun 05:30 PM
New Zealand

Warning over same-sex ball dates

27 Jun 05:30 PM

She suggests that they are responsible, directly or indirectly, for the scores of threats that she has received since she allegedly adopted too soft an approach after same-sex marriage became legal last month. Beatrice Bourges has publicly criticised her former colleague, Ms Barjot, as "trop bisounours", which means "too much like a Care Bear". However, she rejects any link to the death threats Ms Barjot has received.

The French media, briefed by the Government, says Printemps Francais is a loose constellation of extreme right-wing Catholic, nationalist and royalist groups, including apologists for the collaborationist Vichy wartime government. Ms Bourges says that is all nonsense. Some far-right groups, she says, like to claim an association with Printemps Francais because it gives them "respectability".

Who, then, are Printemps Francais? Who is the leader? How is it funded? Ms Bourges becomes uncharacteristically vague.

She registered the internet domain name for Printemps Francais but she is the "spokeswoman, not the leader". The movement emerged from the "desire of various people in the provinces" to take a tougher, more confrontational line than Ms Barjot and "Manif pour Tous". It is not, and will not become, a political movement, she says. It is not an embryo French "Tea Party".

"The reason Manuel Valls and the rest of the Government tell these lies about us is that we scare them," says Ms Bourges. "They hoped that the protests would subside but they now fear we are going to carry on pointing out how dangerous for humanity, and especially for children, this law is."

Ms Bourges says she is not homophobic. "Homosexuals are just people who are trying to make sense of what they are, just like the rest of us," she says. "I can understand why they should want to get married. But this law, as it has been framed in France, goes far beyond that. It gives the right to homosexual couples to adopt, which will fundamentally change the conception of family and destroy children's sense of where they come from..."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"When a heterosexual couple adopts, they are fulfilling, or replicating, the roles of the biological parents," Ms Bourges responds. "If a homosexual couple adopts, they are denying the natural origins of humanity. They are saying that children do not come from a relationship between a man and a woman. They are a possession, an accoutrement, something that you can choose to acquire like a car or a necklace."

This is not an accidental by-product of the law, she insists. The law is the byproduct of an "international programme", to impose the "theory of gender", which holds that there are no fundamental differences between men and women and that our "gender roles" are imposed by society. "By allowing homosexual couples to adopt, the law is deliberately denying the importance of maleness and femaleness as the fundamental building blocks of humanity...," she says.

How many of the 400,000 or so people who took part in the last march (the organisers claimed 1,000,000) believe such abstract and abstruse arguments? Was not this not just a sophisticated way of avoiding having to say: "We have a gut aversion to homosexuality and, therefore, to homosexual marriage?"

"No, not at all," says Ms Bourges. "These are not abstract arguments. You may have a different view. But you have asked me to come here to explain my view and I believe that this law is part of a catastrophic programme to impose gender theory."

This is, in turn, she argues just part of a global, libertarian-liberal drive to replace "true" human values with the values of selfishness and "reduce mankind to a rootless, globalised consumer-producer".

Ms Bourges insists that she is democrat. But, she says, if politicians legislate against "natural justice", citizens have a right to obey their "conscience" and reject their laws. Printemps Francais, she says, is planning a series of "peaceful guerrilla actions" which will make the French Government regret that it ever considered gay marriage.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- Independent

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Musk's SpaceX Starship explodes in Texas test

19 Jun 08:39 AM
World

Missile strikes Israeli hospital; Israel attacks Nanatz nuclear site again, Arak heavy water reactor

19 Jun 06:39 AM
World

What to know about Thailand's political crisis

19 Jun 04:25 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Musk's SpaceX Starship explodes in Texas test

Musk's SpaceX Starship explodes in Texas test

19 Jun 08:39 AM

Starship, at 123m tall, is key to the billionaire's Mars colonisation plans.

Missile strikes Israeli hospital; Israel attacks Nanatz nuclear site again, Arak heavy water reactor

Missile strikes Israeli hospital; Israel attacks Nanatz nuclear site again, Arak heavy water reactor

19 Jun 06:39 AM
What to know about Thailand's political crisis

What to know about Thailand's political crisis

19 Jun 04:25 AM
Karen Read found not guilty of police officer boyfriend's murder

Karen Read found not guilty of police officer boyfriend's murder

19 Jun 03:26 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP