With her tonsils exposed, Simone de Boulevard waits to receive the host in her mouth. Tonight, it's chips. Dressed in a black cassock and an Olympique de Marseille scarf as a stole, the priest jokes: “ Crazy ! “. The drag queen complies obediently, then walks on the red carpet laid out on the floor of the Debilly footbridge. On this evening of October 31, the Eiffel Tower seems less sparkling than her prettily made-up face. “ I am Dalida resurrected from the dead », says ironically the one who doesn't really dream of dying on stage, red wig with bangs on her head and little sheath dress on her back.
The bantering presbyterate addresses their holy divinity: Aya Nakamura. The nuns with pink cornets, Jesus crowned with a luminous crown and other demons with aluminum wings, kneel on the ground and join their hands. Eyelids closed, false eyelashes at rest, all beg “ Saint Aya » to fight « against the fascists “. This simulacrum of contemplation parodies the street prayer which was held three weeks earlier, initiated by young fundamentalist Catholics, on October 7. Their goal then: “ fix » the « blasphemy of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games », scandalized by the performance of drag queen and king artists. Stop fighting against « Satanism and LGBT ideology », as Mathieu Goyer, former fundamentalist activist of the Civitas organization, now banned, took charge.
« Respond to them and respond with a parody of the clergy »
Faced with these prayers homophobic » thus recited, Tarik could not remain without reaction. Impossible for him to let them say mass. The priest defender of OM, and activist of the communist and queer collective Invertsimmediately thought about the response. An idea then emerges: « respond to them and respond with a parody of the clergy “. All he had to do was surround himself with divine figures and find them ecclesiastical outfits with rhinestones and sequins. “ Let the rehomosexualization ceremony of the Debilly footbridge begin! », Satisfies Tarik. Simone de Boulevard recalls the objective of this evening: “ certainly making fun of fundamentalist Catholics “. In the background, the speakers spit out the title “ Judas » by Lady Gaga.
« Pray for you »
“In the name of trans people, queers and holy dykes » is written, in Gothic style, on an immaculate white banner. Like the LGBT Virgin Mary who is also there, baby in her arms. A fallen angel raises a sign: “ This is my body, pray for you “. The troop parades with confidence and takes back the bridge from those who have ” insulted, shocked and hurt ». « We cannot leave them the land as they occupied it in 2012 during the demonstration for all », lance Tarik. We will not stay in the closet we have been confined to for years ».
The laughter dries up, however, when Simone recalls the “ climate and LGBTIphobic attacks “. And even more so when Cendorine, another Drag queen of the collective, details the conservative and reactionary positions of the Barnier government. “ We thought we had won the legislative elections and here we are with people who voted against the ban on conversion therapy, equal marriage, medically assisted procreation (MAP) “, Tarik is scandalized. “ You realize that Bruno Retailleau authorized these street prayers to take place ? », Reacts Simone de Boulevard. A fact which also scandalized the communist senators, Ian Brossat and Pierre Ouzoulias, who immediately called on the Prime Minister, urging him to put an end to this type of ultra-religious demonstrations.
Do LGBTQIA+ communities not have the chance to enjoy the tolerance enjoyed by fundamentalist Catholics? On the contrary, drag queens worry about having to take public transport, to walk in the street, to be stopped by the police. But this evening is different: Cendorine takes advantage of this Halloween evening to stroll through the center of Paris in complete peace and quiet. With the local residents thus disguised, she intends to blend into the crowd and go unnoticed. For once. On other evenings, Cendorine displays another type of mask: a long coat to hide her outfit and her body, for fear of a potential attack. The sound of heavy boots clicking on the wood of the bridge stops him dead in his tracks. Police officers run in their direction. False alarm. They chase away street sellers of miniature Eiffel Towers. The members of the collective disperse all the same, the gathering is not declared at the town hall. They glance behind their shoulders, fearful. The divine does not protect from everything.
