FRANCE: Hundreds of thousands of people take to streets of Paris for annual Gay pride march

Record ID: 278238

  • Title: FRANCE: Hundreds of thousands of people take to streets of Paris for annual Gay pride march
  • Date: 26th June 2004
  • Summary: HOMOSEXUALS DRESSED AS POLICEMAN AND MILITARY OFFICER
  • Embargoed: 11th July 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8DWL7HYZU3OUBEHK8DWNINET1
  • Story Text: Hundreds of thousands of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals take to the streets of Paris for the annual Gay Pride march.
    Hundreds of thousands of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals thronged the streets of Paris on Saturday (June 26) from Denfert-Rochereau Square to Bastille for the annual Gay Pride march.
    This year's parade, more political than ever and under the motto 'Lets stop this pretence and Equality Now', marked the 15th year of the city parade.
    Yet, France's conservative government approved a draft law against sexism and homophobia last Wednesday (June 23).
    The bill, due to be submitted to parliament in July, aims to change France's 1881 press law to punish insults based on sexual orientation, inlcuding comments against homosexuals as a group.
    It would also punish incitement to discrimination, hate or violence on gender grounds.
    President Jacques Chirac said that he expected the law to put a stop to serious acts as insults and provocations to sexist or homophobic violence, hate or discrimination Justice Minister Dominique Perben indirectly confirmed that homophobia was the bill's main target in comments after a weekly cabinet meeting approved it.
    The marchers, denouncing all kind of discrimination, clad in skimpy leather outfits, wild feather head-dresses and in some cases little at all to the sound of techno music. They were led by the city's gay Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoe, and a host of leftist politicians.
    "Homosexuals, heterosexuals are looking for equal rights: equality for the words, for the acts which cannot be discriminatory, for the marriage, for the parental duties, for the prevention of homophobia or lesbianphobia at school. Paris likes intelligent societies, therefore free societies, and free means equal," said Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe.
    Gilles, a homosexual, said that the government should legislate on the right to marriage and adoption and added that as human beings they have the same rights as anybody else.
    "We have to legislate on the right to marriage, to adoption. We should not have any more differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals. Above all, we are human beings, we have the same rights, the same duties, the same responsibilities and that's it," he said.
    For the second time in a row, representatives of France's leading conservative party took part in the march under the banner With Jacques Chirac, against homophobia.
    LGBTI
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