In Paris, a Pride march more political than ever on the eve of the early legislative elections

LGBT+ RIGHTS – “It’s going to be an important and historic march.” If a pride march is inherently political, the one which will take place this Saturday June 29 in the capital promises to be unprecedented, recognizes James Leperlier, president of InterLGBT. “ On the eve of an election as historic as the early legislative elections, with a risk of seeing the extreme right come to power, it requires us to be even more involved. », continues with the HuffPost the president of the inter-association organizing the annual event.

“We expect a very strong mobilization of the participants, but also of the organizations which will take part in the procession, with a good number of registrations in recent weeks”, adds James Leperlier. Some 50,000 to 80,000 people are expected between the Porte de la Villette and the Place de la République this Saturday afternoon.

Faced with the threat of a National Rally majority in the National Assembly and the entry of Jordan Bardella into Matignon, several protest processions were formed within the march. This is the case of the radical collective Les Inverti-es which, after having coordinated a platform of LGBT associations against the far right, organized with La France insoumise a procession of around fifteen structures to “a show of force on anti-fascism under the slogan “The far right is the mortal enemy of the LGBTI, united anti-fascist response””, explains Mimosa, member of the Inverti-es collective.

Fear of seeing rights threatened

LGBT associations are convinced that: minorities will be the first targets » in the event of a victory for the far right in the legislative elections, underlines James Leperlier. “Examples in Europe show a decline in the rights of LGBT+ people when the far right is in power”, he says. “ Rights have been withdrawn from families in Italy, the right to represent homosexuality has been restricted in Hungary, “anti-LGBT zones” have been created in Poland… »

With the RN in power, the risk is real “ to return to a state that shamelessly oppresses LGBT+ people », worries Emily Tante, drag queen at the initiative of a “drag procession” during the June 15 demonstration against the far right and who will parade on Saturday with several other of her sisters in the procession of Inverti-es. “ With the far right, we risk institutionalizing violence. We have already noticed that the victory of the RN in the European elections has uninhibited LGBTphobic speech and actions. ».

In fact, the recent attack on a young gay man in Paris by far-right activists who were celebrating the RN’s victory in the European elections – one of them having declared to investigators, in reference to a possible RN victory: “ “I can’t wait until three weeks from now, when we can beat up as many fags as we want.” – has made an impression on the LGBT community. More broadly, the concern particularly concerns trans people, who have been explicitly targeted for several months by the conservative right. This is why the member associations of InterLGBT have adopted the slogan “Against transphobia: transsolidarity”.

Offensive transphobe

« Never have trans people been able to live so freely, to be fulfilled. Yet, There is a huge risk for their future », worries Giovanna Rincón, director of Acceptess-T, who will march in a procession of trans associations within the pride march. “Their identity is taken hostage by politicians and called into question by certain parties who, in a very direct way, say that they are going to attack their rights,” she recalls.

“The transphobic offensive that we are observing today is very connected with the extreme right,” then Mimosa. “It even infuses Emmanuel Macron’s latest statements on the subject,” adds the activist in reference to the words of the head of state who judged “gross” the possibility of changing marital status at town hall for trans people. “We know why he does it: he is not really an ally of LGBTI people but, as a pyromaniac firefighter, he is trying to win back votes from the extreme right.”

But this threat unites the community

If the extreme right at the gates of power worries the LGBT community, it has not said its last word and feels more united than ever. “There is a sense of urgency. We have rarely seen such a dynamic campaign, with people wanting to join us,” continues Mimosa, whose collective organizes leaflet distributions in the center of Paris and at LGBT+ evenings.

A determination that Emily Tante also sees in the drag world. “ There is a movement that has been set up autonomously in Lyon, Strasbourg, Montpellier “, she lists, emphasizing that politics is more present in drag artists’ shows: “ Those who were not used to carrying political messages mobilized to do so.” And to add: “With drag kings and drag creatures, we have the feeling of standing together, and that gives us hope. »

But for LGBT activists, the fight against the far right does not stop at the legislative elections. “Whatever happens, on July 7, we will have to rebuild an anti-fascist mobilization on the ground to counter the rise of the extreme right fueled by anti-social laws for thirty or forty years », indicate Mimosa. A statement shared by Giovanna Ricón: “For LGBT associations, this is a fairly crucial moment, with the need to remobilize in the face of a slowdown or a sort of falling asleep. »

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