https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The suicide of a 13-year-old French boy who was subjected to homophobic bullying at school has prompted expressions of shock in the country and warnings that homophobia kills. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230113/shock-in-france-over-boys-suicide-after-homophobic-bullying Fri, 13 Jan 2023 11:28:10 +0100 shock-in-france-over-boys-suicide-after-homophobic-bullying The head of French football has pulled away from a hardline stance against homophobic chanting and banners in stadiums on Friday, saying that "too many matches" have been stopped due to anti-gay abuse. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190907/too-many-matches-stopped-for-homophobic-chants-french-fa-chief Sat, 07 Sep 2019 12:27:57 +0200 too-many-matches-stopped-for-homophobic-chants-french-fa-chief A young man who was filmed assaulting a transgender woman was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison, four of them on parole, by a Paris court. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190523/crowd-attack-on-french-transgender-woman-leads-to-10-month-sentence Thu, 23 May 2019 10:23:17 +0200 crowd-attack-on-french-transgender-woman-leads-to-10-month-sentence Assaults in France on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people hit a new record in 2018, "a dark year" for the LGBT community, French group SOS Homophobie reported Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190514/from-insults-to-violence-how-homophobic-attacks-have-jumped-in-france Tue, 14 May 2019 11:06:08 +0200 from-insults-to-violence-how-homophobic-attacks-have-jumped-in-france Paris’ famed newspaper kiosks made the headlines earlier this year when one was burned down during a “yellow vest” protest and donors around the world gave thousands of euros to help its manager rebuild his business. By Rory Mulholland. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190506/paris-newspaperman-sparks-homophobia-row-after-refusing-to-sell-magazine-with-men-kissing Mon, 06 May 2019 18:12:00 +0200 paris-newspaperman-sparks-homophobia-row-after-refusing-to-sell-magazine-with-men-kissing French authorities are investigating an attack on a transgender woman who was assaulted and jeered at a demonstration in central Paris against Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika that sparked outrage Wednesday among activists and politicians. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190403/crowd-attack-on-french-transgender-woman-sparks-outrage Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:31:01 +0200 crowd-attack-on-french-transgender-woman-sparks-outrage Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into former France and Manchester United defender Patrice Evra over "homophobic insults" aimed at Paris Saint-Germain, a judicial source told AFP on Monday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190401/p Mon, 01 Apr 2019 18:10:39 +0200 p The spike in attacks on homosexuals in France over the past year has led to the country dropping a whopping 11 places in just a year in an annual gay travel index. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190311/france-plummets-lgbt-friendliness-rankings-because-of-homophobic-attacks Mon, 11 Mar 2019 17:27:52 +0100 france-plummets-lgbt-friendliness-rankings-because-of-homophobic-attacks Vandals defaced a Paris plaque to the last gay couple to be put to death in France in 1750, painting it black and covering it in posters suggesting only heterosexuals should have children, city officials said Monday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180807/vandals-deface-plaque-to-executed-french-gay-couple Tue, 07 Aug 2018 11:01:20 +0200 vandals-deface-plaque-to-executed-french-gay-couple The French minister Mounir Mahjoubi declared that he was gay on Twitter to mark the International Day Against Homophobia on May 17th and to speak up as a public figure who has himself suffered prejudice in the past. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180518/french-minister-announces-he-is-gay-on-twitter-to-fight-homophobia Fri, 18 May 2018 14:38:10 +0200 french-minister-announces-he-is-gay-on-twitter-to-fight-homophobia France has seen a rise in homophobic physical attacks for the second consecutive year, a new report reveals with a gay rights charity saying it shows prejudice against the LGBT community is becoming "anchored" in French society. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180516/france-sees-jump-in-homophobia-related-physical-attacks Wed, 16 May 2018 11:52:44 +0200 france-sees-jump-in-homophobia-related-physical-attacks Pope Francis held a private audience Wednesday with a French student critically injured in 2016 defending a gay couple who were kissing in the street in the French city of Lyon. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180411/french-student-student-beaten-for-defending-gay-couple Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:45:36 +0200 french-student-student-beaten-for-defending-gay-couple France welcomed its first gay refugee from Chechnya on Monday on the same day French President Emmanuel Macron pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to investigate the brutal crackdown on gay men in the region. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170530/france-takes-in-refugee-from-chechnya-as-macron-presses-putin-on-gay-rights Tue, 30 May 2017 11:48:35 +0200 france-takes-in-refugee-from-chechnya-as-macron-presses-putin-on-gay-rights A French TV show at the centre of a breast-kissing controversy earlier this year routinely disparages gays under the guise of humour, a gay rights group claims. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161215/breast-kissing-scandal-show-faces-homophobia-claims Thu, 15 Dec 2016 13:14:09 +0100 breast-kissing-scandal-show-faces-homophobia-claims France's health minister is taking several French mayors to court after they ordered HIV awareness posters to be taken down in their towns, apparently because they featured two men embracing. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161123/french-mayors-take-down-posters-of-men-kissing Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:28:11 +0100 french-mayors-take-down-posters-of-men-kissing According to a shock ruling by a Paris employment tribunal, calling a gay male hairdresser a “dirty faggot” is not a homophobic insult, because there are lots of gay male hairdressers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160408/its-ok-to-call-a-hairdresser-a-faggot-rules-paris-tribunal Fri, 08 Apr 2016 10:20:02 +0200 its-ok-to-call-a-hairdresser-a-faggot-rules-paris-tribunal Gay activists are outraged after officials in a Paris suburb ordered the removal of artsy advertisements which appeared to show two stunning women about to kiss. But wait, it gets even worse. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140530/french-town-hall-removes-lesbian-kiss-posters Fri, 30 May 2014 19:08:00 +0200 french-town-hall-removes-lesbian-kiss-posters France may have taken the historic step of legalising gay marriage last year, but it appears the landmark social reform came at a cost. The number of reported homophobic acts increased in 2013 by a staggering 78 percent, according to a watchdog group. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140513/homophobia-gay-france-attacks-rise Tue, 13 May 2014 21:03:00 +0200 homophobia-gay-france-attacks-rise A group of anti-gay marriage ‘pilgrims’ have been barred from gathering in Paris this weekend. Police claim they were forced to resort to social networks to discover the group's plans. ‘The Watchmen’ have vowed to assemble anyway. https://www.thelocal.fr/20130829/anti-gay-marriage-pilgrims-barred-from-paris-demo Thu, 29 Aug 2013 17:24:00 +0200 anti-gay-marriage-pilgrims-barred-from-paris-demo French prosecutors have opened a formal investigation into a recent flurry of homophobic tweets, after a French group fighting anti-gay hate speech filed a complaint against Twitter, legal sources revealed on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20130828/france-opens-probe-into-homophobic-tweets Wed, 28 Aug 2013 19:30:00 +0200 france-opens-probe-into-homophobic-tweets