French Sen. François-Noël Buffet, a member of the right-wing Les Républicains party, was nominated last month to the position of Defender of Rights (DDD) and was approved by parliament in a 43-39 vote on Tuesday. Buffet’s nomination drew criticism because he opposes marriage equality and reproductive health care.
Buffet will now serve a six-year term as DDD that can’t be revoked before it’s over. The independent position, which is named in the constitution, will require him to be a watchdog for rights and freedoms, according to Le Figaro. The office comes with significant investigative powers and can intervene in certain areas related to whistleblowers, children’s rights, and discrimination.
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Buffet doesn’t just oppose marriage equality but participated in anti-marriage protests in 2013, before the country legalized marriage for all. He voted against marriage equality that year and then, in 2014, he was one of several politicians to sign a charter to “preserve the father-mother-child family unit,” France 24 reports.
He also voted against allowing single women and lesbian couples to have access to medically assisted reproduction, even though that provision went on to pass. In 2024, he abstained as parliament voted on a measure adding the right to an abortion to the constitution. He also opposes health care access for undocumented immigrants.
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Centrist French President Emmanuel Macron nominated Buffet to the position on July 7, and he was grilled in the National Assembly’s Legal Affairs Committee about his “racist and homophobic votes.”
“I did something stupid; I had my doubts about the consequences, but not about the principle itself,” Buffet said about his opposition to marriage equality, adding that he has “evolved” on the issue.
LGBTQ+ rights advocates called out Buffet’s nomination.
“One of the bulwarks shielding same-sex parents and their children from discrimination is at risk of being undermined by someone who does not believe in those rights,” said Nicola Faget of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Parents and Future Parents. “It’s frankly alarming.”
“It’s hard to think of a less suitable candidate to uphold our rights than one who doesn’t believe in them.”
Faget noted that the DDD has a role in helping same-sex parents who aren’t given equal treatment, like if their jobs deny them parental leave or if local authorities don’t let them register as parents to their children.
Macron’s second term is over next year, and France 24 speculates that Buffet may have gotten the position as part of “political horse-trading” to put his political allies in good positions.
“Macron delivered on his pledge to extend medically assisted reproduction rights to all, but his recent appointments have baffled us,” Faget said. “Whether it’s networking, cronyism or political wheeling and dealing, it’s certainly not helping those who most need the Defender of Rights.”
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