France, Europe

France has traditionally been fairly tolerant in matters of private morality including homosexuality and this is reflected in the country's legislation. Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment or service, public or private, has been prohibited since 1985. Gay and lesbian people are free to serve in the Armed Forces. On December 2004, the National Assembly approved legislation which made homophobic or sexist comments illegal. The maximum penalty of a €45,000 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment. In 1997, 55% of the French considered homosexuality "an acceptable lifestyle". In 2006, 78% considered homosexuality "as good as any other lifestyle". The current mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, publicly revealed his homosexuality in 1998, before his first election in 2001.

Included in this index are two non-gay stories, both located in France, (Baccarat Crystal and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War 1) as well as six non-gay-related photo galleries that relate to the Meuse-Argonne region and the death of my uncle, a US soldier in World War One.

 

News & Reports:

 

France to create LGBTQ+ envoy role amid backlash over ministers’ anti-gay statements

Emmanuel Macron’s government has been under fire over ministerial appointments. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced Thursday that an “ambassador for LGBT+ rights” position will be created and filled before the end of the year. In a statement, Borne’s office said the ambassador will be responsible for “coordinating French diplomatic action to protect against discrimination… Read more »

French parliament bans LGBT+ conversion therapy

Countries including Brazil and Malta have already moved to ban practices that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity Dec 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – France’s parliament voted on Tuesday to ban so-called conversion therapy, joining a handful of countries that have taken steps to outlaw practices that seek to change a… Read more »

France pays tribute to six-year-old resistance hero Marcel Pinte

Special Armistice Day ceremony lauds contribution of wartime courier who died in 1944 France has paid tribute to a six-year-old boy regarded as its youngest resistance hero, as part of the nationwide Armistice Day ceremonies in memory of those who died in the first and second world wars. In a special ceremony, the name of… Read more »

Rimbaud and Verlaine: France agonises over digging up gay poets

President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to strike a blow for sexual diversity by ordering the “Pantheonisation” – interment at the national mausoleum in Paris – of two of France’s best-loved poets, Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. A petition signed by 10 former culture ministers, as well as a long list of artists and intellectuals,… Read more »

French league game halted after homophobic banners unfurled

Nice, France – The French league game between Nice and Marseille was halted for several minutes during the first half Wednesday after Nice fans unfurled two banners with homophobic messages. One banner referred to Tuesday’s takeover of Nice by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man who is the owner of chemicals giant Ineos. The… Read more »

Love letter between nuns shows the true story of queerness in the Middle Ages

Exclusive: GSN speaks to Professor Erik Wade about historical queerness A professor at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany recently posted a love letter between two medieval nuns on Twitter. GSN covered the letter and how pure it was. In looking to learn more about the two women, and their possible love story, GSN… Read more »

Paris Gay Games a respite for oppressed athletes

Paris — The Gay Games which are under way in Paris are not just a chance to celebrate sport and diversity: they offer crucial respite to gay athletes forced to hide their sexuality in their home countries. Silenced In China Unable to share the truth about being gay with his family, 21-year-old Zhang Nan flew… Read more »

Tens of thousands attend Paris Gay Pride march

Tens of thousands of mainly young people flooded the streets of central Paris for the annual Gay Pride parade on Saturday, with plenty of exuberance but also calls to “carry on the struggle” against discrimination. The marchers wound their way through the French capital under the traditional rainbow colours of the LGBT community. Among the… Read more »

Posthumous wedding for French policeman killed in ISIS attack

The partner of a French gay policeman who was killed in a terrorist attack has remembered him in a posthumous wedding ceremony this week. Policeman Xavier Jugelé was killed in the attack on the Champs-Élysées by a gunman in April. Mr Jugelé was shot in the head and killed in the attack, while two other officers… Read more »

Tens Of Thousands March In Paris To Protest Gay Marriage

Opponents of France’s 2013 law extending marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples staged a march in Paris on Sunday, roughly six months before voters head to the polls to elect a new president. Organizers estimated the crowd at 200,000, while police said the number was closer to 24,000. Demonstrators carried signs which read “A… Read more »

Gay Pride march sparks French far-right row

A Gay Pride march in Paris Saturday has caused a row in France’s far-right National Front (FN), with some student supporters backing an event decried by a party vice-chairman. How gay friendly is gay Paris? (01 Jul 16) ‘Giving in to fear’: Anger as Paris gay pride cut back (30 Jun 16) “More than ever… Read more »

Air France faces revolt from gay cabin crew over flights to Iran

Air France is facing a rebellion from gay air stewards – who are refusing to fly on a new route to Iran. The company is launching a new route from Paris to Tehran, the capital of the reclusive state, with flights set to begin on April 17. However, the new route has been controversial with… Read more »

Gay imam helps young Muslims balance religion, sexuality

Marseille, France (AP) — Growing up in Algeria, Shaira had almost everything a young man could wish for. But he also had a big secret. In a land where homosexuality is still a crime and a sin, he was forced to live a secret life, hiding that he was gay from everyone — even his… Read more »

France to Lift Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood

Paris — France will lift a ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men starting next year, officials announced Wednesday, joining a growing list of countries that have loosened or scrapped such restrictions, which many see as outdated vestiges of the 1980s AIDS crisis. “Giving one’s blood is an act of generosity and of… Read more »

Congrats! France’s first out gay MP gets married

A French Senator became the first out gay Parliamentarian to get married on Saturday. Luc Carvounas, a Senator, married his partner Stephane Exposito in Val-de-Marne on 11 July. The couple had entered a civil solidarity pact, or PACS, three years earlier. Exposito is the chief of staff to the Secretary of State for Women’s Rights… Read more »

People living with HIV unite to respond to the HIV epidemic in the Indian Ocean islands

Two of the major networks of people living with HIV in the Indian Ocean region have merged. The decision, which is aimed at strengthening civil society participation in the AIDS response in the Indian Ocean islands, was announced during the 13th Indian Ocean Colloquium on HIV and Hepatitis, which concluded on 10 October in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains,… Read more »

France: Tens of thousands protest in Paris and Lyon against ‘family phobic’ equal marriage

Tens of thousands of protesters were reported to have marched in Paris and Lyon on Sunday against the French government’s legalisation of same-sex marriage. According to AFP, protesters accused French President Francois Hollande’s government of “family phobia” following new laws easing abortion restrictions and legalising equal marriage. Police reported that around 80,000 people had taken… Read more »

Nude men take the spotlight in Paris art exhibit

‘It’s male beauty in all its glory’ said Musée d’Orsay curator of the exhibit that explores pain, temptation, desire and idealization through two centuries’ worth of naked men The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has launched an exhibition title Masculin/Masculin focusing on the male nude. The naked male is ‘no longer possible to ignore,’ said president… Read more »

Gay marriage reveals surprise contrast between ‘starchy’ Britain and ‘freewheeling’ France

London — The French like to make fun of the British, joking about their repressed ways in matters of the heart. But when it came time to debate same-sex marriage, it was France that betrayed a deep conservative streak in sometimes violent protests — while the British showed themselves to be modern and tolerant. With… Read more »

Over 15 million banned from gay marriage in France

LGBT people from 10 countries, who could potentially travel to France to get married, would be barred from doing so Over 15 million LGBT people are banned from same-sex marriage in France, it was revealed today (2 July). France has signed agreements with several countries saying any ex-patriots would be banned from marrying under the… Read more »

Activists celebrate France’s first gay wedding amid mass protests

Two French activists exchanged vows Wednesday in what was apparently the first gay wedding under the country’s new law legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption. Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau were married in Montpellier, a city in southern France with a large gay community. Autin and Boileau had told Agence France-Presse that theirs would be a… Read more »

French lesbian love story wins top prize at Cannes

An intimate lesbian love story by French director Abdellatif Kechiche won the top prize in Cannes on Sunday, and the film festival’s director immediately urged the large crowds protesting against gay marriage in Paris to go and see it. Cannes(Reuters) – “La Vie d’Adele – Chapitre 1 & 2” (Blue is the Warmest Colour) was… Read more »

Gay Marriage Opponents Stage Paris March Days Before Law’s Start

With only days before a gay marriage law is set to take effect in France, thousands poured into the streets of Paris on Sunday to demand its repeal. The legislation, which takes effect on Wednesday, makes France the 14th nation to legalize such unions. An estimated 150,000 protestors gathered at the historic Esplanade des Invalides,… Read more »

France gay marriage: Hollande signs bill into law

France’s president has signed into law a controversial bill making the country the ninth in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalise gay marriage. On Friday, the Constitutional Council rejected a challenge by the right-wing opposition, clearing the way for Francois Hollande to sign the bill. He said: “I have taken [the decision]; now it is… Read more »

French Police Arrest More Than 100 As Gay Marriage Protests Continue

French police have arrested more than 100 activists as protests against a bill legalizing marriage and adoption for gay couples enters its final phase. The measure has already been approved in the French parliament’s upper and lower houses. A final vote in the National Assembly is planned for Tuesday and is considered a formality. Opponents,… Read more »

Why gay marriage polarised France

Paris — Gay marriage may have passed with barely hitch in many countries, but it has kicked up a huge storm in France, a country often seen as the champion of secularism and notoriously relaxed on issues pertaining to private life. Smelling blood after a bruising first year for President Francois Hollande, right-wing leaders have… Read more »

Violence grows as gay marriage bill divides France

Rise in homophobia worries Paris’s gay community as protesters against Hollande’s proposed reform take to streets on Saturday A large American wartime poster proclaiming “We can do it” hangs behind the bar at Les Souffleurs, a fashionable bar in the Marais, the traditionally Jewish, but now gay, quarter of Paris. The barman admits business is… Read more »

Thousands March In Paris For Gay Marriage

Thousands of activists are marching through the streets of Paris on Sunday in a show of support for the government’s plans to make France the 12th and most influential nation so far to legalize gay marriage. Demonstrators carried banners with phrases such as “Equality of rights is not a threat” as they kicked off their… Read more »

Protest against gay marriage: Huge crowds expected in Paris

Paris – Several hundred thousand people are expected to march through Paris on Sunday against the planned legalization of same-sex marriage in the first mass protest against the unpopular President Francois Hollande. Strongly backed by the Catholic hierarchy, lay activists have mobilized a hybrid coalition of church-going families, political conservatives, Muslims, evangelicals and even homosexuals… Read more »

Landmark Ruling: Human Right Court Rules Religious Beliefs Do Not Trump LGBT Rights

In an historic, landmark decision the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that an individual’s religious beliefs do not trump the rights of an LGBT person and may not be used to discriminate against them. The Court, in Strasbourg, France, examined four cases brought by Christians from the UK, two of which related to… Read more »

Poll: Strong support across Europe for equal marriage and adoption – but France divided

A majority of people in several European countries believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married and adopt children, but in France the public is divided, according to YouGov. It’s latest poll shows a slim majority of French people (51%) are against allowing gay couples to adopt. The findings come ahead of an… Read more »

Muslims urged to march against gay marriage in France

Muslims join Catholics in fight against President François Hollande’s ‘Marriage for All’ law French Muslims have joined Catholics in protesting the country’s plans to legalize gay marriage and adoption. An open letter signed by 50 Muslim activists calls on religious followers to join a march against the law in France’s capital Paris on Sunday (13… Read more »

Tens of thousands march for gay marriage in France

Demonstrators in cities across France, including Paris, call on the government to pass equal marriage bill Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of France to call for gay marriage to be legalized. Around 150,000 people joined the ‘demonstration for equality’ in Paris’s Place de la Bastille yesterday (16 December), urging the government… Read more »

Muslim Extremists in Tear Gas Gay Marais Attack

Five Muslim extremists attacked a gay club in Paris beating the bouncers and spraying some attendants, including the vice president of IDAHO, with tear gas Several people were slightly injured when a homophobic attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, at the entrance of club Cud, in the gay Marais area of Paris,… Read more »

Paris gay-friendly mosque denounced by Islamic leaders

Islamic leaders in Paris are condemning the opening of what’s been described as Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque. Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grande Mosqueé in Paris, told France 24 that the mosque goes against the rules of Islam. He said: “Worshippers go to a mosque to worship god, they don’t go to demonstrate their sexuality”.… Read more »

France: ‘Mosque for gays’ with mixed prayer groups to be opened in Paris

A mosque aimed specifically at gay people, and which would provide mixed gender prayer groups, is set to open in Paris at the end of November. Mohammed Ludovic Lütfi Zahed, a gay muslim, plans to open his mosque in the hall of a Buddhist chapel on 30 November, in which men and women will be… Read more »

France: Thousands rally for equal marriage and adoption rights

Thousands of demonstrators turned up to rally at the National Assembly in Paris on Wednesday evening to show support for equal marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. Earlier in the day, French President Francois Hollande’s government approved a bill to legalise equal marriage and allow gay couples to adopt. Demonstrators chanted “equality now” to… Read more »

Poll: Gay men take twice as many holidays

A new poll suggested gay men take double the national average number of holidays each year. Ipsos Mori polled 2,174 gay men for Gaydar and has released both the pattern for gay holidays and the most popular destinations. San Francisco was the most popular city, followed by Amsterdam. The resort of Gran Canaria came third… Read more »

French prime minister: Equal marriage and adoption laws to be introduced ‘quickly’

The French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told a French television station this morning a change in legislation to allow gay couples to marry and adopt children will be done ‘quickly’ and that a draft is ‘ready’. According to French news website Yagg.com, M Ayrault told radio station RMC and TV station BFMTV this morning that… Read more »

François Hollande’s Presidential win Brings French Marriage Equality Closer

The new President-elect of France, François Hollande, the country’s first Socialist president in nearly two decades, is expected to push equal marriage and adoption rights for gay couples in the European country. In an election dominated by economic concerns similar to the UK’s local elections last weekend, M Hollande achieved 51.6 percent of the run-off… Read more »