Paris Sees Two Homophobic Attacks In The Space Of A Month

Two gay couples were attacked in separate incidents in the French city.

Image of Paris

Two gay men were assaulted in a homophobic attack in Paris last Saturday. The couple were attacked on the evening of October 6 on Rue du Maroc in the 19th arrondissement of the French capital after they kissed on the street. They were kicked in the ribs and the nose by two perpetrators who fled the scene on bikes.

The men were then taken to the hospital where they were treated for their injuries.

Police arrived an hour after the attack and managed to arrest one of the attackers who was still in the area. He was placed in custody later that night and was charged with “willful violence committed on the basis of the sexual orientation of the victims and the carrying of a category D weapon”. The other attacker was found and subsequently arrested on October 7. He was later released over a lack of criminal evidence.

This marks the second homophobic attack in Paris in less than a month.

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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

Three weeks ago, French comedian Arnaud Gagnoud was subjected to verbal and physical abuse after he hugged his boyfriend while leaving a theatre. Gagnoud took to Instagram to share an image of his black eye.

Gagnoud was targeted by a group of young people who flung homophobic abuse at him and his friends. The teenagers demanded that Gagnoud leave the area, and when he refused the abuse escalated. The group of teens called for “reinforcements” and another young man arrived on a scooter. He took off his helmet and hit Gagnoud in the face with it twice. Other theatre-goers eventually managed to get the group of attackers to leave, while sheltering Gagnoud and his partner inside the venue.

Following the attack, Gagnoud’s face was severely bruised and he required seven stitches. The police arrested two of the teenagers involved in the attack.

© 2018 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.

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