NÎMES Homophobic attack in front of Le Pride? Demonstration and political reaction

Last Friday late evening, a fight broke out in front of the Le Pride establishment, located 1 rue de Bernis in Nîmes. According to various testimonies, two individuals attacked the bar manager and one of his employees who were closing the bar.

The latter filed a complaint the next day. Thus, the perpetrators were arrested and then placed in police custody. They were released this Sunday with a subsequent summons to appear before the Nîmes court.

According to our information, the Nîmes police are still trying to understand precisely how the events unfolded. The Nîmes prosecutor's office did not accept the homophobic nature of the attack at this stage.

This affair took a more political turn this Sunday evening. A spontaneous demonstration took place in front of the arena with around fifty people coming to support the alleged victims. There are also numerous reactions and support on social networks.

Vincent Bouget, from the Nîmes Citoyenne à Gauche group, also speaks this evening: “A violent attack carried out by two individuals, accompanied by homophobic remarks, took place on Friday evening at Pride Nîmes, just after the bar closed. As elected officials, we bring all our support and our warm thoughts to the owners of this establishment and to the two other people who were there and were physically attacked. Furthermore, we know the psychological trauma that such an attack represents. We strongly condemn this act and hope that the perpetrators will be prosecuted and convicted. We recall that homophobia is an aggravating circumstance for the crime of violence. In Nîmes, as everywhere else, the LGBTQI community must be able to live in safety and calmly frequent the shops, bars and nightclubs dedicated to them. implemented to protect these places of conviviality, important to our city. It is unacceptable that in 2024, homophobic violence is possible. A rally in support of Pride and the people attacked took place. this Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Arènes. Our group was represented by Marianne Bernède.”