A Subway sandwich shop in Angers, France shut down on Sunday after it outraged customers with a heterosexuals-only Valentine’s Day deal.

As the French legislature considers the merits of passing same-sex marriage equality, the owner of a local Subway franchise put his two cents into the debate by giving a 14 euro special to “H/F” — male and female — couples. The deal sparked so much anger the the shop actually closed its doors:

Also on the poster was an asterisk that read: “Discrimination (?) No, the marriage for all law has advanced, but has yet to be ratified by the Senate. Until then, I’ll use my freedom of expression.”[...]

A slew of angry customers responded to the ad on both Facebook and Twitter, and the official Twitter account of Subway in France responded on Friday saying: “We have been made aware of this poster and it has been immediately removed from the Subway in Angers.”

In an effort to calm the outrage, the company later tweeted: “We are committed to diversity/integration, we are working with the owner of the restaurant to reinforce our values/politics.”

France, as a nation, has turned its focus intensely toward marriage equality since French President François Hollande announced that it would be a major initiative of his administration. And the people of France clearly seem to side with Hollande over the Subway restaurateur; a recent poll showed that 63 percent of French people supported changing the law.

The French National Assembly just voted to approve both marriage equality and same-sex adoption with a vote of 329-229. This is perhaps not surprising given the support for the bill’s most essential article earlier this month. It now proceeds to the Senate, which is similarly controlled by the Socialists that took power last year. A poll conducted last month shows that 63 percent of French voters support the freedom to marry. France and the United Kingdom are racing to be the 12th and 13th countries to legally recognize same-sex marriage. The British House of Commons advanced similar legislation last week with a 400-175 vote.

Over the weekend, France’s Parliament approved a crucial aspect of the propose marriage equality bill. With a vote of 249-97, the Deputies approved the article of the bill that will define marriage as an agreement between two people of the opposite or same sex. They also scrapped an amendment that would have allowed mayors who object to same-sex marriage opt out of conducting them. With this vote so successful, proponents believe the full bill will now pass with ease.

Still, the bill faces some 5,000 amendments — literally — that conservative opponents have filed as a delaying tactic. Arguments against marriage equality in France sound similar to those used in the U.S., such as UMP MP Philippe Gosselin, who offered this slippery slope claim: “Today it is marriage and adoption. Tomorrow it will be medically assisted conception and surrogate mothers.” Still, with 63 percent of French voters in support of the bill, these arguments and tactics are not likely to faze the socialist lawmakers intent on passing full marriage equality.

Watch the historic vote:

(Photo Credit: Benjamin Girette, AP)

Two weekends ago, the National Organization for Marriage boasted about the large protest in Paris against marriage equality, but this weekend saw a counter-response from tens of thousands of supporters. The march on Sunday included messages like “Equality of rights is not a threat” and “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity — No more, no less!”

Though Sunday’s march may not have been quite as large as the anti-gay protest, momentum certainly favors equality in France. A new poll released Saturday shows that 63 percent of French voters favor marriage equality and only 37 percent oppose it. Still, voters are a bit more divided on the question of same-sex adoption, which is one of the primary benefits marriage equality would provide.

The French version of Elle magazine is dedicating its new issue to same-sex marriage, and editorial director Valérie Toranian is using the “Marriage for all!” issue to endorse marriage equality. Toranian notes that Elle has always fought for the rights of women, and it demonizes their bodies when opponents of equality use arguments that also attack surrogacy and adoption, making it confusing who is on which side of the issue:

This debate is not primarily between old and modern, right and left, homophobes and progressives: there are gay, pro-marriage Catholics [on the] left, and right-leaning psychologists fiercely attached to the symbolism of gender difference as a necessity for any potential child. There are feminists who advocate for IVF for lesbians, but who oppose surrogate mothers for gays because they denounce the commodification of women’s bodies.

The confusing messages on the issue in France are further clouded by the influence of the National Organization for Marriage, which is testing some of its new strategies there, such as highlighting gay people opposed to marriage equality. By emphasizing the biological relationships of mothers and fathers, such campaigns alienate not only same-sex couples, but any couple who is raising children that they have adopted, fostered, or used a surrogate mother to bear. Elle should be commended not just for taking a good position on LGBT equality, but for recognizing the other implications of the debate.

Several hundred thousand people rallied against marriage equality in France Sunday, but the apparent success of the protest seems to reflect the influence of American groups more than anything. Multiple news reports refer to a coalition of groups led by the Catholic Church’s hierarchy — as well as some evangelical Christian and Muslim groups — that organized the protest, but none of those groups are recognized by name. What’s clear, though, is that the U.S.-based National Organization for Marriage is playing a significant role in France’s debate on same-sex marriage.

On Friday, NOM’s Brian Brown announced he was in France for the protest, and the group spent last week pushing the “gays against gay marriage” meme featuring anti-gay French Catholics. NOM also highlighted a series of offensive French editorial cartoons that imply same-sex parents are incapable of raising happy children because the children will only care about the parent of a different gender they don’t have. Jeremy Hooper also discovered that NOM is responsible for a French “Let Us Vote” site encouraging the country to support a public vote on civil rights. Brown offered this reflection from the protest:

You see, the French people know in their bones that every child deserves a mother and father. And so they took to the streets – hundreds of thousands of them!

I am proud to be a part of this historic moment in France. [...]

They held signs that read “Une papa, une maman pour TOUS les enfants! — which means “A dad, a mom for ALL children.” Some children held signs that read “Made in papa + maman”: “Made in mom and dad.”

I have been so excited to be part of this new international solidarity movement in defense of marriage, children and family.

As Alvin McEwen notes, NOM offers no consideration for the many children who have no parents at all to raise them. The implication of their message, as it has always been, is that same-sex parenting somehow harms children, a myth with no foundation. Perhaps the organization is dismayed by its recent losses in the U.S. and is trying to bolster their own egos by exporting their message, or perhaps they feel they can only be successful in societies where public understanding and visibility of same-sex families has not advanced as much. Either way, it’s clear that NOM is betraying its own “national” mission to condemn same-sex families the world over.

“But actually…. I would have loved to have a Mom.” “You are selfish! You should be happy to know that you provided happiness to your two Dads!”

French Education Minister Vincent Peillon and President François Hollande

French Education Minister Vincent Peillon recently sent a letter to the nation’s 8,300 Catholic schools, urging them to remain neutral on the question of same-sex marriage as the government begins to advance equality legislation. Peillon noted that the Catholic school system, which serves about a fifth of France’s children, is state contracted, and that seizing an opportunity to preach the Church’s anti-gay beliefs could be very harmful to children:

It doesn’t seem appropriate to bring the debate over equal marriage rights into schools. I have the deepest respect for the Catholic school system. But, the institution, which is under contract with the state, must respect the principle that everyone has the right to a neutral and free thought… We must never forget that we are dealing with young people and that attempted suicides are five times higher among teenagers who realize they are homosexual than others.

Over the weekend, President François Hollande defended Peillon’s letter, pointing out that pupils in the nation’s Catholic schools are no less entitled to free thought:

HOLLANDE: Secularism is a Republican value. We have to make sure that all ways of thinking are respected and that all religions can be practiced. But, we also have to [respect] the fact that we all live in the same place, and that the state, as well as both private and public educational institutions, adheres to a principle called neutrality.

Peillon’s critics allege he’s creating different standards for public and private schools and defaming Catholic schools. Nevertheless, the Catholic leadership in France and even Pope Benedict himself have urged followers to oppose the marriage equality and same-sex adoption initiatives. A poll conducted last week found that 69 percent of French people would like the opportunity to vote on same-sex marriage, but a December poll showed that 62 percent support marriage equality.