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Activist Violently Assaulted in 5th Homophobic Attack in Paris in a Month

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Guillaume Mélanie, President of Urgence Homophobie, an organization that assists LGBTQ people with asylum, was violently assaulted on a Paris street in the fifth reported homophobic attack in recent weeks. The attack happened near the Etienne Marcel Metro station in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.

“Tonight it is my turn,” wrote Mélanie. “Homophobic attack after leaving a restaurant. Broken nose. Shocked. Blood everywhere. I am gay, and it’s 2018.”

Said Mélanie to local news: “I was leaving the restaurant with friends, we were celebrating the fact that one of our refugees had been granted residency [in France] and as we were leaving, during the time we were saying goodbye we were getting in the way on the path. And a gentleman who must have seen that we were gay, wasn’t happy about it. He pushed one of our party to get past, he was told to go ‘gently’ and that’s when he started directing crazy homophobic insults at me. He called me a faggot (PD in French) and he gave me a big punch on the nose.”

Mélanie told AFP: “We were somewhat obstructing the way in the street and a man pushed us rather violently. I said ‘Go easy’ and then another man who was with him said ‘You’re just a dirty faggot’ and ‘You should all be burned’ and punched me hard.”

The attack follows four separate anti-gay attacks.

The Local reports: ‘On October 6th, a homophobic assault took place in the capital’s 19th arrondissement when two men were violently attacked by two people over the fact that they were kissing, with each suffering injuries in the ribs and face. Then on October 8th, two young women were beaten up in public for the same reason and on October 13th a man was attacked in the 15th arrondissement for wearing make-up. In his tweet about the incident the victim of this attack said: “I never thought that I would tweet something like this but it doesn’t only happen to others: I was a victim of homophobic aggression last night in the 15th arrondissement of Paris because I wore make-up 🙃”‘

Arnaud Gagnon, a young actor, was attacked by six people in September after hugging his boyfriend outside the theater.

Said Gagnon on Instagram: “I knew that one day it would happen to me. Violent homophobic aggression in the street…Last night, with my boyfriend, we went to see a friend in a play in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. When we went out to get a breath of air after the show we gave each other a hug. A hug. Just a hug. It was 10:00. A group of three young people about 20 meters away saw us. They stopped us. As we ignored them, they got closer. A flood of homophobic insults was coming out of their mouths. They demanded that we leave “their neighborhood” where “there is no PD here”. As we refused to leave, the insults became more serious, more hateful. Then a fourth joined them. A kid who seemed 12-years-old. And he’s the one who called for reinforcements. A scooter with the fifth and sixth attackers. Insults, shoving, threats. We do not give in. The scooter driver unhooks his helmet, removes it, and strikes me with it. Two blows to the head. Everything is going very fast. Spectators at the theater see the scene, run over, make them leave and shelter us. My friend was not injured, fortunately. For me a facial trauma, with bruise and edema, seven stitches and several days of ITT. We made the choice to share this picture and our story. We made the choice to file a complaint. In hope that this violence finally ceases…”

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Je savais qu'un jour ça m'arriverait. Une agression homophobe violente en pleine rue. Je savais qu'un jour je devrais faire ce choix : prendre une photo et la publier ou ne pas la publier. Avec les conséquences que cela aura dans les deux cas. Je ne savais juste pas quand cela aurait lieu. C'est donc aujourd'hui. — Hier soir, avec mon copain, nous sommes allés voir jouer une amie et collègue comédienne dans un petit théâtre du 20ème arrondissement de Paris. Alors que nous sortions prendre l'air et attendre notre amie, nous avons eu le malheur, en discutant, de nous serrer dans les bras. Un câlin. Juste un câlin. Il était 22h00. Un groupe de trois jeunes, postés à une vingtaine de mètres, nous a vus. Ils nous ont interpellés. Comme nous les avons ignorés, ils se sont rapprochés. Un flot d'insultes homophobes sortait de leurs bouches. Ils exigeaient que nous quittions "leur quartier" où "y a pas de PD ici". Comme nous avons refusé de partir, les insultes sont devenues plus graves, plus haineuses. Puis un quatrième les a rejoints. Un gamin qui paraît avoir douze ans. Et c'est lui qui a appelé des renforts. Un scooter avec notre cinquième et sixième agresseurs. Insultes, bousculades, menaces. On ne cède pas. Le chauffeur du scooter détache son casque, le retire, et me frappe avec. Deux coups portés à la tête. Tout va très vite. Les spectateurs du théâtre voient la scène, arrivent en courrant, les font partir et nous mettent à l'abri. Mon copain n'a rien, fort heureusement. Pour moi un traumatisme facial, avec ecchymose et oedeme periorbitaire. 7 points de sutures et plusieurs jours d'ITT. — Voilà. Nous avons fait le choix de partager cette photo et notre histoire. Nous avons fait le choix de porter plainte. Pour que ces violences cessent enfin, même si nous ne nous faisons pas d'illusions…

A post shared by Arnaud Gagnoud (@arnaudgagnoud) on

 

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