The march came in the wake of a vote mid-June by the national assembly that rejected a socialist bid to legalize gay marriage.

Although the left voted for the plan, a large proportion of the UMP-New Center majority were opposed.

According to a poll of a 1,000 people for the Dimanche Ouest-France newspaper however, 63 percent back the idea, with almost the same proportion (58 percent) backing the right of same-sex couples to adopt.