This year, the visibility marches organized a few days before the legislative elections in France were highly politicized. Participants held signs and chanted slogans against the National Rally. A message relayed by several calls from the LGBT+ community to block the far right by voting for the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front. In a context of renewed hatred and violence against minorities. Report from the LGBT+ community in Strasbourg.
From our correspondent in Strasbourg,
In the dressing rooms of the Petit tigre, a bar in downtown Strasbourg, a dozen drag artists are getting ready for their show. Sitting in front of a mirror, Mizkeen is finishing her makeup. This queer drag artist from Strasbourg fears that this will be her last show if the far-right National Rally (RN) party wins the legislative elections: “ Maybe tomorrow we won’t be able to do shows like this because we’ll be afraid for our lives, afraid of being beaten up when we leave, afraid of raids by dangerous fascist groups and we won’t be able to protect ourselves or our audience. »
Mizkeen is part of House of Diamonds, one Strasbourg drag collectives at the origin of the call to block the extreme right. Signed by nearly 600 collectives and drag artists across France, this text denounces a trivialization of violence against all minority people and blames it on Marine Le Pen’s party.
“ Every percentage that the RN gains are additional attacks. : homophobic, transphobic, but also racist, xenophobic, misogynistic… denounces Mizkeen. I have friends who, since the European elections and the dissolution of the National Assembly, have been increasingly insulted in the street. Who say that today it is almost daily. So clearly, we are afraid. »
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An increase in anti-LGBT+ attacks
In the audience that evening, several members of the LGBT community shared this concern, like Léon (19 years old), a young gay man visiting from Paris: “ The last thing I heard that personally scared me was the attack by three people from the Gud, a far-right student union, on an LGBT person. And they openly said that in three weeks, they could openly beat up gays. »
The same feeling is shared by Cécile (21 years old), a Lebanese student who fled her country, where she was persecuted as a lesbian. I came to find safety, but in France, I am not safe. Not at all.she assures. I receive a lot of physical and moral harassment. I am always afraid to show myself in front of people and politics plays a big role in that.
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In 2023, SOS Homophobie noted a clear increase (+30%) in physical attacks against LGBT people. And the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) noted a decline in tolerance towards all minorities between 2022 and 2023.
Countries that have gone far right as a bad omen
For Flora Giros, president of the Station – an association dedicated to welcoming LGBT+ people in Strasbourg – Emmanuel Macron is partly responsible for this situation: “ We were really shocked by Macron’s remarks, which described as “absurd“This proposal from the New Popular Front to change the gender on identity papers. The way it was said by the president encourages a moral panic to try to win the votes of the extreme right. He is using us and that for us, it was extremely violent. »
Since the European elections, the association, which like other LGBT+ associations in France has received threats, has been increasing its actions to raise awareness of the danger that the RN represents for all minorities. The RN, where it is present in the town halls, we see LGBT associations seeing their subsidies cut. And very clearly, the RN says that it will fight “LGBT+ ideology“, says that he is going to ban medically assisted procreation for lesbian couples, for example… And what we can clearly see is that in other countries where the extreme right has come to power – Poland, Russia of course – it is a huge step backwards for the rights of LGBT+ people. ” laments Flora Giros.
And to warn: once the damage is done, going back is much more complicated.
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