Since the announcement of Michel Barnier’s appointment to Matignon, one aspect of his political life has emerged: his vote against the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1981.
In 1978, at the age of 27, Michel Barnier was elected deputy on the benches of the Rally for the Republic (RPR). At the time, he was the youngest member of the National Assembly. This is how, in December 1981, he was present in the hemicycle of the Palais Bourbon, where he voted against the decriminalization of homosexuality.
The bill, put forward by Raymond Falorni and Gisèle Halimi, a feminist lawyer and then a socialist MP for Isère, planned, among other things, to abolish an article of the Penal Code that punished “indecent or unnatural acts with a minor of the same sex over the age of fifteen” and thus criminalized homosexuality. The text, supported by the socialist government of the time and the Minister of Justice Robert Badinter, was adopted, with 327 votes in favor, mainly socialists and communists, and 155 votes against, mainly from the right and the center. The decriminalization of homosexuality was a measure in the program of François Mitterrand, elected a few months earlier.
Mélanie Vogel denounces Emmanuel Macron’s lack of “backbone” on issues relating to equality
When Michel Barnier’s appointment to Matignon was announced, several political leaders from La France Insoumise were outraged by this position. Jean-Luc Mélenchon thus asked, during his speech this afternoon: “What a strange message to send to a country that is looking for ways to unite by all means to appoint someone who voted against the decriminalization of homosexuality. What is the meaning of such a message?”. MPs Louis Boyard and Claire Lejeune also expressed regret in a tweet. “Both on the decriminalization of homosexuality and on the reimbursement of abortion, he voted against, while we are at a time in the country where abortion has just been included in the Constitution and we want to recognize this right as fundamental,” lamented Mélanie Vogel, Green senator for French people abroad.
The Inter-LGBT association, on its X account (ex-Twitter), said it was “dismayed” by Barnier’s appointment to Matignon, “A clearer sign than ever that the government will be hostile to our rights and existence! Any government openly opposing our struggles and our lives is not an option! We are intensifying our resistance now and calling on civil society not to give up!”, it added.
An appointment that irritates all the more since in 2022, while he was also looking for a name for Matignon, Emmanuel Macron had abandoned the Catherine Vautrin track. Her commitment against marriage for all would have weighed in this decision. Michel Barnier, who voted against the decriminalization of homosexuality, also replaces Gabriel Attal, the first tenant of Matignon “openly assuming his homosexuality”. Mélanie Vogel denounces Emmanuel Macron’s lack of “backbone” on issues relating to equality. “If he finds that it is in his interest to appoint a gay Prime Minister, he does it, if he finds that it is in his interest to appoint a Prime Minister who votes against the decriminalization of homosexuality, he does it”, she regretted.
