The atmosphere in Tbilisi, Georgia, was very different from that of recent weeks. On Friday, May 17, liturgical and polyphonic chants replaced the whistles that had been blowing for a month outside Parliament to demand the withdrawal of the controversial bill on "foreign influence," passed by Parliament on Tuesday. The crowd, too, had a different look: not many young people, but families, the elderly and priests galore. Early in the morning, tens of thousands of Georgians flocked to the capital to take part in the "Family Purity Day," which was created to protect so-called "traditional" values in this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus.

This celebration, launched in 2014 by the Georgian Orthodox Church, deliberately coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. But this year, it was above all a show of force for the government, which has been booed nightly by thousands of demonstrators since the reintroduction of its bill, modeled on a Russian law and aimed at silencing civil society and independent media.

A number of leaders from the ruling Georgian Dream party, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, joined the procession to the Cathedral of the Saint- Trinity, the city's largest church, whose construction was financed by the country's strongman, Bidzina Ivanichvili. The government has also officially declared the day a national holiday and public holiday this year.

'Homophobic propaganda'

Aware of the risk of provocation and confrontation, opponents of the "foreign influence" bill called to postpone demonstrations on this specific day. "The government wants to show it's stronger than the demonstrators," sighed David Matiashvili, a 22-year-old journalism student present to cover the march. "Most of the people who came today are civil servants. They know very well that if they don't come, they could lose their jobs. But some of them are here out of conviction," he said, adding, "It's homophobic propaganda day, people are here against LGBT people."

In the procession, most shared the idea that "family means a father and a mother." "We're here to defend the purity of family values, and to express our loyalty to our traditions and to the State," said Tamar Khorgouani, 60, who had come with her daughter and grandson. Like many of the participants, this Orthodox believer was very hostile to sexual minorities. She was also convinced that "the Europeans want to force Georgians to adopt homosexual marriage in order to enter the European Union." "Georgia has no other solution than Europe, but it has to accept us as we are, with our values and our dignity," she insisted.

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