Homophobic Outbursts: Anti-Gay Attacks Spike as Marriage Vote Nears

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/anti-gay-attacks-spike-in-france-as-marriage-vote-nears-a-896012.html


Dutchman Wilfred de Bruin has lived in France for the past decade. In early April, he was brutally attacked after walking arm-in-arm with a friend in Paris. After he posted a picture of the injuries he sustained, he became a symbol of the new wave of homophobia being felt in France.


In mid-April, a group of men with shaved heads attacked the popular gay bar Vice Versa in Lille. The high-profile attack has contributed to an atmosphere of concern in gay and lesbian communities across France. The attack happened at 10 p.m. and both the owner and his employees were slightly injured. Police later apprehended the aggressors.


The anti-gay tone in France in recent months has caught many off, guard, including President François Hollande. Here, groups including the gay rights and AIDS activist organization Act-Up protest at Place de la Bastille in Paris on Sunday against homophobic attacks and in favor legalizing gay marriage. France has already had same-sex civil unions legislation in place since 1999 that bestows gays and lesbians with many of the rights of marriage.

"Sorry to show you this. It's the face of homophobia," Wilfred de Bruijn wrote beneath a photo he posted on his Facebook profile earlier this month. The Dutchman had gone out with a friend in Paris' 19th Arrondissement the evening before and had been walking arm-in-arm with him when they were attacked by three or four people. "Hey look, they're gays," one of the attackers allegedly said. Then they badly beat de Bruijn.

The photo, which his friend took as evidence to give to the police, shows de Bruijn's badly bruised face. De Bruijn filed a complaint with police over bodily injury with homophobic motives. In the days since, the photo has gone viral on the Internet as evidence of a dangerous escalation in aggressiveness toward gays and lesbians in France.

Gays and lesbians have reported being cursed at, insulted and spat upon. It's a situation that has made young gays especially feel ill at ease. On Sunday, a large crowd of young gays and lesbians gathered at the Place de la Bastille to protest against homophobia. "We're currently receiving an increasing number of calls from young people who are totally beside themselves," says Nicolas Noguier of the gay and lesbian aid organization Refuge.

'An Explosion of Hatred and Violence'

Fear has become widespread among gays and lesbians in France following an attack in mid-April on Vice Versa, a popular gay bar in Lille. Four people showed up at the bar, located in the city's historic center, at 10 p.m. They destroyed furniture, broke the front window and slightly injured the bar's owner and a handful of employees.