It was almost 19 years ago. On June 5, 2004, Noël Mamère, then mayor (EELV) of Bègles celebrated the marriage of Stéphane and Bertrand, nine years before the legalization of marriage for all in France, on May 17, 2013.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of this advance in the field of equal rights, 20 minutes met Noël Mamère, 74, who was mayor of Bègles, near Bordeaux, for twenty-eight years. His name will remain attached to this precursory political act.
Is it a personal conviction that pushed you to this initiative?
It was not an individual initiative since it was part of a fight for equal rights, led for a long time by my political family, the Greens. It was in January 2004, the homophobic attack, in the North, of Sébastien Nouchet, burned in the 3rd degree and today in a wheelchair, which triggered reactions from activists of the LGBT cause. They wrote a manifesto for equal rights, which included the request for same-sex marriage. It was signed by thousands of people including myself.
This manifesto sparked a debate and Clémentine Autain (deputy mayor of Paris), Jacques Bouto (Green mayor of the 2nd arrondissement) Christophe Girard (member of the Greens) and myself held a press conference to say that we were going to marry the people of the same sex who wanted it. Bertrand Delanoë, then mayor of Paris, opposed it but they could not withdraw my delegation to me, since I was mayor of Bègles.
At that time, for the Greens (who are not yet called Europe Ecologie-Les Verts EELV), is it a political risk vis-à-vis the voters to proceed with this illegal marriage?
Of course it’s a political risk, but the nobility of politics is knowing how to dare and not following opinion, otherwise it becomes populism and weakness. If I had made scholarly calculations on the potential loss of the number of voters I would not have done so, but I bet on the intelligence of the voters. Moreover, the Béglais re-elected me in the first round (in 2008) and even took a certain pride in this marriage, it seems to me.
There were two very different worlds at that time. I remember the sound and fury on the wedding day. I even slept on the sofa bed in my office the day before, to make sure I wasn’t prevented from entering the town hall. And an hour after the wedding, as if France were threatened with general imbalance, a letter from Dominique de Villepin (then Minister of the Interior) was sent to me suspending me from my duties for a month. And, on the other hand, I went that same weekend to the cod festival, which brings together 60,000 people for three days, and I did not have a single thought about it from the inhabitants. .
What political credit did your party derive from this episode?
It showed society that, contrary to what liberals and the current system would have us believe, environmentalists are not doomed to deal only with environmental issues. Ecology is totally linked to social issues and human rights. In 2002 when I was the Greens presidential candidate, I was the only one to defend the right to die with dignity, which we are talking about a lot these days, the vote at 16 and the controlled legalization of cannabis.
We were then ahead on social issues that have become commonplace. Today there are even people on the right who demand the controlled legalization of cannabis. The left has not been brave enough on these issues. When François Hollande (in 2012) mentioned the possible use of the conscience clause for mayors (who were reluctant to perform same-sex marriages), it was an open door to what is most conservative.
You are also one of those who are in favor of surrogacy (GPA), especially for homosexual couples.
It exists but we don’t talk about it and everything that is condemned to hiding must be fought. It is a right that must be granted to all. There are plenty of studies on children raised by same-sex couples and we know that otherness, they build it all by themselves.
The role of politics is to expand the public space, to allow us to address issues that require contradictory debate and that advance our collective intelligence. I think for example that there will be a before and after on the citizens’ convention on the end of life, whatever the decision of Emmanuel Macron.
Did the clandestine ceremony also influence the legalization process in your opinion?
This political act provoked a real debate in society. I am not convinced that it has reduced homophobia, but it has accelerated the elimination of discrimination linked to sexual orientation, even if all of them are not extinct. I overran a certain number of associations and I was criticized by some of them which have a rather libertarian conception.
All politicians like to leave traces and the only one I will leave may be that one. I also think I’ve done other things worth looking into, even though I’m very proud of this marriage.