French minister Beaune: Polish restrictions on abortion mark "sad day"

PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said on Thursday that Poland's decision to put into effect new restrictions on abortion represented a "sad day".

"A sad day which reminds us how rights can recede if they are not defended. The struggle continues," wrote Beaune on his Twitter feed.

Poland's government put into effect on Wednesday a Constitutional Court decision banning terminations of pregnancies with foetal defects, as conservative policies increasingly take root in one of Europe's most devoutly Catholic countries.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Editing by Gareth Jones)