Funeral celebrant Roy Francis convinced Messenger that just as his wife was entitled to a civil celebrant marriage, she was similarly entitled to a civil celebrant funeral. Some 200 people attended and many urged Messenger to continue the work as "much more important than weddings." Messenger credits Dennis Perry, then brother in law of Helen Francis, of being a decisive influence. From this time on some marriage celebrants began to quietly and carefully officiate at funerals when they were asked to do so. On Tuesday 3 May 1977 a group, consisting of some authorised marriage celebrants and some other persons formed an
Modern and Humanist France Modern and Humanist France Modern and Humanist France ("France moderne et humaniste") is a recognized movement within the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). It was created in August 2012 and it is led by Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Luc Chatel, Jean Leonetti and Marc Laffineur. The movement was created by former members of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), Rally for the Republic (RPR) and Liberal Democracy (DL) with the stated aim of uniting the party's liberals, Christian democrats, liberal conservatives and radicals; the broader centrist and moderate factions of the UMP. As a motion for the November 2012 congress, the