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 city of Paris on Saturday inaugurated a memorial dedicated to people persecuted for being homosexual during the Second World War but also "throughout history", mayor Anne Hidalgo said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250517/paris-gets-memorial-for-gay-victims-of-persecution Sat, 17 May 2025 18:12:46 +0200 paris-gets-memorial-for-gay-victims-of-persecution Valerie Montchalin found out who her friends were when she transitioned to being a transgender woman in her village high in the Massif Central of central France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250320/insults-and-acceptance-being-trans-in-rural-france Thu, 20 Mar 2025 09:54:36 +0100 insults-and-acceptance-being-trans-in-rural-france France's LGBTQ activists rejoiced on Thursday after the lower house of parliament overnight unanimously approved a bill to compensate gay people convicted under discriminatory laws from 1942 to 1982. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231120/french-senate-to-weigh-compensation-for-victims-of-anti-gay-laws Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:35:10 +0100 french-senate-to-weigh-compensation-for-victims-of-anti-gay-laws France said on Monday that it would set up a fund through its embassies to promote the rights of LGBTQ people, as it met like-minded nations at the United Nations. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230919/france-sets-up-embassy-fund-to-defend-lgbtq-rights Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:31:18 +0200 france-sets-up-embassy-fund-to-defend-lgbtq-rights France has made it an offense to practise 'conversion therapy', which seeks to push gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people towards heterosexuality. Those found breaking the law face two years in prison and a €30,000 fine. https://www.thelocal.fr/20220126/france-outlaws-conversion-therapy-for-lgbtq-people Wed, 26 Jan 2022 15:02:25 +0100 france-outlaws-conversion-therapy-for-lgbtq-people Vanesa Campos was shot in the chest in the Paris' Bois de Boulogne back in 2018. After years of waiting, her alleged killer and two associates are now finally facing trial. https://www.thelocal.fr/20220111/french-trial-opens-over-brutal-killing-of-transgender-sex-worker Tue, 11 Jan 2022 14:59:14 +0100 french-trial-opens-over-brutal-killing-of-transgender-sex-worker The French government on Wednesday published a wide-ranging new plan to fight LGBT discrimination in France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201014/frances-40-point-plan-to-tackle-lgbt-discrimination Wed, 14 Oct 2020 15:49:52 +0200 frances-40-point-plan-to-tackle-lgbt-discrimination France's oldest LGBT bookshop is being pushed out of Paris's trendy gay district due to skyrocketing rents fanned by gentrification, tourism and top brands which have opened outlets there. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200118/famed-lgbt-bookshop-forced-out-of-pariss-gay-district-by-high-rents Sat, 18 Jan 2020 17:14:59 +0100 famed-lgbt-bookshop-forced-out-of-pariss-gay-district-by-high-rents 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. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180701/tens-of-thousands-attend-paris-gay-pride-march Sun, 01 Jul 2018 04:11:10 +0200 tens-of-thousands-attend-paris-gay-pride-march Rainbow pedestrian crossings painted on roads in the Marais district of Paris for Saturday's Gay Pride march will become a permanent feature, the city's mayor has decided after one of them was tagged with homophobic graffiti. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180628/rainbow-pedestrian-crossings-to-be-permanent-feature-of-paris-streets Thu, 28 Jun 2018 12:39:33 +0200 rainbow-pedestrian-crossings-to-be-permanent-feature-of-paris-streets A Frenchman has filed a discrimination suit at Europe's top rights court over a rule that requires gay men to refrain from having sex for a year before they donate blood, his lawyer said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180623/france-faces-suit-over-no-sex-rule-for-blood-donations-by-gay-men Sat, 23 Jun 2018 05:39:35 +0200 france-faces-suit-over-no-sex-rule-for-blood-donations-by-gay-men The University of Tours in central-west France has become the first in the country to offer gender-neutral toilets, in an effort to make transgender students feel more comfortable. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170914/french-university-creates-gender-neutral-toilets-in-a-nationwide-first Thu, 14 Sep 2017 17:10:47 +0200 french-university-creates-gender-neutral-toilets-in-a-nationwide-first 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. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160703/gay-pride-march-sparks-french-far-right-row Sun, 03 Jul 2016 12:43:02 +0200 gay-pride-march-sparks-french-far-right-row The Orlando massacre on a gay club this month is among the reasons that police are cutting short the annual Paris gay pride parade on Saturday, much to the anger of the LGBT community. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160630/gays-in-france-upset-as-pride-parade-gets-halved Thu, 30 Jun 2016 11:28:00 +0200 gays-in-france-upset-as-pride-parade-gets-halved First the Air France hostesses didn't want to wear veils when getting off the plane in Iran, now gay stewards don't want to go to a country where homosexuals could face the death penalty. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160412/air-frances-gay-stewards-refuse-to-fly-to-iran Tue, 12 Apr 2016 14:56:48 +0200 air-frances-gay-stewards-refuse-to-fly-to-iran A French court is trying a woman on charges of defrauding two gay couples who hired her as a surrogate mother, which is illegal in France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160127/french-surrogate-mum-on-trial-for-defrauding-gay-couples Wed, 27 Jan 2016 16:40:16 +0100 french-surrogate-mum-on-trial-for-defrauding-gay-couples President François Hollande has backtracked on a promise made on Tuesday to give local mayors “freedom of conscience” to opt out of performing gay marriages. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121122/hollande-makes-second-u-turn-on-gay-marriage-bill-in-24-hours Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0100 hollande-makes-second-u-turn-on-gay-marriage-bill-in-24-hours The French parliament has voted to make the harassment and discrimination of transgender people a criminal offence, as part of a bill addressing sexual harassment. https://www.thelocal.fr/20120726/french-senate-adopts-transphobia-legislation Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:13:00 +0200 french-senate-adopts-transphobia-legislation