Deputies and senators meeting in Congress in Versailles overwhelmingly approved on Monday the inclusion in the Constitution of voluntary termination of pregnancy, France becoming the first country to do so explicitly. 780 parliamentarians approved the introduction into Article 34 of the basic text of the sentence: “The law determines the conditions under which the freedom guaranteed to women to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy is exercised.” Only 72 parliamentarians voted against. This historic vote was greeted with a standing ovation from the hemicycle.
President Emmanuel Macron immediately praised “French pride” and “a universal message”. He also announced that a sealing ceremony, open to the public, would be held on Friday March 8 at 12 p.m. on Place Vendôme in Paris.
French pride, universal message.
Let us celebrate together the entry of a new freedom guaranteed in the Constitution by the first sealing ceremony in our history open to the public.
See you this March 8, International Women’s Rights Day. pic.twitter.com/dcwniEPei4
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 4, 2024
“France is faithful to its heritage”
Under thunderous applause, the residence of the kings of France and its gigantic hemicycle vibrated as deputies and senators completed the examination of this historic constitutional revision, the result of a long-standing political and feminist battle. The Prime Minister Gabriel Attal hailed “a step which will go down in history”, believing that the freedom to abort “remains in danger”. “France is faithful to its heritage (…) homeland of human rights and also and above all women’s rights.”
The announcement of the results of the vote by the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, the first woman to preside over the Congress, caused an explosion of joy on the bright red armchairs of the hemicycle and on the Place du Trocadéro in Paris , where several hundred people gathered to watch the debates on a giant screen, under a glittering Eiffel Tower. Several deputies and guests sang the women’s anthem in the hemicycle.
Aurore Bergé on the arm of her mother
A sign of the global dimension of this vote, the Vatican reacted strongly, arguing that “there can be no ‘right’ to take a human life.” Emotions were high at the Palace of Versailles, several parliamentarians confiding their exaltation at this rare moment in the life of an elected official, on the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Veil law having legalized abortion in France in 1974. The minister delegate for Equality between women and men, Aurore Bergé, notably arrived on the arm of her mother, who had had a clandestine abortion.
If the left reserved its speeches only for speakers at Congress, the groups Renaissance and Les Républicains chose four men to summarize the positions of their groups. “This fight is part of the great history, it is very rare”, greeted the leader of the rebellious deputies Mathilde Panot, at the initiative of this revision in the Assembly. She admitted to experiencing a “slightly magical moment”, wearing a green outfit, the rallying color of pro-abortion activists in Latin America.
“We will continue for those who resist Trump, Bolsonaro, Orbán, Milei, Putin, Giorgia Meloni,” continued socialist senator Laurence Rossignol, receiving a standing ovation from Congress on several occasions, under the eyes of around thirty foreign journalists. out of some 150 accredited.
“We owe (this vote) to women’s freedom”
Emmanuel Macron had made this reform one of the flagship promises of the societal aspect of his policy in recent months, embracing the various parliamentary initiatives of the left, supported by the majority. The formulation of “guaranteed freedom” for abortion is the culmination of long debates in Parliament and particularly in the Senate, where President Gérard Larcher and part of the right were reluctant. The head of LR deputies Olivier Marleix pointed out the “risk” of creating “an absolute right”. But “we owe (this vote) to the freedom of women”, he conceded, recognizing the “threats” hovering over abortion in the world.
More offensive, Marine Le Pen mocked “one day to the glory of Emmanuel Macron”, before her colleague from the National Rally Hélène Laporte estimated that “the freedom that we dedicate today will never be more than half a freedom”. In a generally consensual day, several rebellious leaders and environmentalists nevertheless accused Gabriel Attal of “invisibilizing” the initiatives of several left-wing women.
Attal, pathetic little one, makes the role of the rebels and the president invisible @MathildePanot in today’s decision. Sexism and sectarianism typical of a man without consistency who has never led any long-term fight.
— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) March 4, 2024
Opponents of abortion, for their part, demonstrated in Versailles in the afternoon, rallying more than 500 people calling to “protect life”. On the other hand, the national president of Family Planning, Sarah Durocher, hailed a “historic day” but warned of the need to begin work on resources for “access to abortion”.