French Minister Pressured to Resign Over 'Homophobic' Comments

Recently appointed French Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Caroline Cayeux, has found herself at the centre of a row over comments she made back in 2013. 100 figures from French public life have signed a statement denouncing her and comments she made relating to gay marriage and abortion.

On July 4th, when the new French government formed, Cayeux was asked by the French Senate whether she stood by the comments, made almost a decade ago, when she described same-sex marriage and abortion as a "plan that goes against nature". In response, Cayeux stood by her original comments, saying that she had "friends among those people", a comment she later apologised for.

But on Sunday, the Journal du Dimanche published the open letter signed by politicians, lawyers, members of civil society, mayors and former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, which questioned whether Cayeux could keep the post in light of her language. "How can we accept that a member of government ... calls French citizens 'those people'? How can we avoid that, in her mind, they do not belong to the same category of citizens?", the letter asked.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne said on Friday that the remarks were 'shocking', but had been made in the past. She went on to say that Cayeux would remain in post to remain 'concentrated on her mission' as a government minister.

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