French National Assembly Rejects Marriage Equality 293-222

Bizarre news from France where the National Assembly has rejected a bill to enact marriage equality by a vote of 293-222. President Nicholas Sarkozy's party, the UMP which controls the body, opposed the measure proposed by the Socialists.

From Agence France Press:

"We are against homophobia but we do not want to alter the image and function of marriage in the collective subconscious," said UMP lawmaker Michel Diefenbacher.

Opposition Socialist party lawmaker Patrick Bloche had called the bill a measure to end a form of discrimination and "pass to a new stage in equality of rights."

Several of France's fellow European Union member states, including Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, have legalised homosexual marriage.

Wow. "The collective subconscious" image and function of marriage is what heterosexual supremacists are using to defend their discriminatory position. Doesn't that sound eerily like a defense of segregation? After all, that was about the collective subconscious of what it means to be "white" (and "American") in this country.

Marie Antoinette Goes To The Carnival In Jalouse Magazine

The following pics are from a shoot by Paul Schmidt for Jalouse.  The theme is "She's a Rainbow!", but it looks to me like a more apt title might have been Marie Antoinette Does Ringling Brothers or Harlequin Goes Pink In Paris, or something along those lines.  Whatevs.  The model is Charlotte Free!  (via Fashion Gone Rogue)

Paul Schmidt/Jalouse

Architecture Update: Notre-Dame Rosary Church in Les Lilas, Seine St. Denis

It has been quite a while since an Architecture Update has appeared on this blog, mostly because the decision had been made to discontinue the feature, but I just had to post about a new church in the Seine St. Denis department outside of Paris, in the commune of Le Lilas.  I am obsessed with modern churches in Europe, primarily because of the nature of public architectural projects in Europe (especially France) and the interplay of this quality with the essential requirement for Catholic churches to be an expression of both centralized church authority and a representation of a modern personalized religious experience.  Whew!  That was a mouthful.  Basically, what I am trying to say is: A modern Catholic Church has to simultaneously represent the power of Catholicism whilst also suggesting individual spirituality (rather different from the arrogance of the Spanish/Italian Baroque during the Counter-Reformation).  Dezeen (the best architecture and design website out there) has posted some incredible pictures of the newly-completed church of Notre Dame in Les Lilas.

Images courtesy Herve Abbadie/Dezeen

The church was designed by ENIA Architects and was constructed of "two contrasting colors of stone".  Because church services had to continue in the 1886 "temporary" Les Lilas church next door, the project needed to be completed in phases in such a way that the original church was not demolished until the worship areas of the new church were completed.  Dezeen described the original church as being of a temporary, wooden construction, but the images that I dug up reveal a rather small concrete structure.  There are various aspects of the new church that are interesting, such as the nave that is entered perpendicularly, but most are beyond the scope of this blog.  In contrast to most Americans, I am very much in favor of civic architecture (commissioned by government bodies) because, frankly, we cannot leave art and architecture preservation (and innovation) to the tacky plebs.  I'm just sayin'.  (via Dezeen)

The original church of Les Lilas.  It appears that the accessory building (to the right of the church) was demolished in order to construct the new Notre Dame Rosary Church

Chateau For Sale in Poitou-Charente, France

Want to live like a prince?  Yes, please.  This 19th century Loire valley chateau is for sale in the region of Poitou-Charente in France, Vienne department, close to the town of Richelieu.  Actually, there are many chateaux for sale in France, but this one caught my eye.  According to the listing, it was most recently utilized as a hotel, but can be converted to a single family residence.  It is listed with Winkworth, and the asking price is 3.5 million euros, about 5 million USD.  The story comes from the Telegraph.

Kvitova Beats Clijsters To Win Open Gaz de France Title

Petra Kvitova stunned new World #1 Kim Clijsters 6-3 6-4 to win the Open Gaz de France title, the third WTA Tour title of her career. Clijsters was playing in her 5th consecutive final, and won 3 of them, losing to Li Na in Sydney and Kvitova in Paris. Kvitova is the top-ranked left-handed player on the tour and will rise to #14 in the World on Tuesday; she has won 16 of 17 matches played in 2011. Kvitova, 20, was the WTA Tour's Newcomer of the Year last year and is most well-known among tennis fans for her 2010 Wimbledon semifinal loss to Serena Williams. The 13-time major champion is slated to return to the court by playing an  exhibition against Maria Sharapova on March 4.

Clijsters Is New #1, Faces Kvitova in Open Gaz de France Final

Reigning Australian Open and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters has regained the #1 ranking for the first time since her August 2009 return to the WTA Tour. Clijsters will replace Caroline Wozniacki when the rankings are released on Monday. Clijsters barely won her first match as World #1, beating Kaia Kanepi 6-1 7-5 in the semifinals of the Open Gaz de France semifinals and will face 2011 Australian Open quarterfinalist Petra Kvitova (who dismissed Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-2 6-0) in the final on Sunday.

Last year's tournament was won by Elena Dementieva over Lucie Safarova in one of the best women's tennis matches of the year. It would be the Russian's last tour title since she retired from tennis later in 2010.