They want more effort from the authorities. About fifty associations defending the LGBT movement, as well as Amnesty International or the FSU, expressed concern Wednesday about an upsurge in attacks and hateful attacks against LGBTI centers, and ask the State to better protect these establishments.
[Tribune✍️] We are more than 50 #LGBTI+ associations to sign a platform in support of all LGBTI+ centers in @TETUmag, after the attack on the @clgbt_touraine and other centers in France.#SoutienCentreLGBTI
➡️ https://t.co/m3GKAXeCZo pic.twitter.com/nRZTW06Hyy
— SOS homophobia (@SOShomophobie) May 31, 2023
"For nearly a year, we have seen a particularly worrying increase in acts of vandalism, degradation, hate speech and hateful behavior against several LGBT centers," as well as "facilities that make visible the fight for equal rights and the fight against discrimination," say the signatories, in an article published on the website of the magazine Têtu.
The LGBT center in Tours was targeted on May 22 by an explosive device launched on its premises in the middle of the afternoon, and which did not cause injuries. The prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for attempted murder.
Violence, aggression, damage
This is the "sixth attack since January" against the center of Tours, deplore the signatories of the text, who also evoke other violence or homophobic attacks, such as the fire of an LGBT + center in Reunion, damage in Nantes, or a rainbow flag torn six times in Arras.
See alsoLGBT + relations with their family: "When I came out, my mother screamed"
"Located in many cities of France, these places carry out missions of reception, orientation and support of LGBTI people, activism for equal rights and against discrimination, which are valuable and particularly important for LGBTI people, especially in a context of anchoring LGBTIpobes violence," defend the signatories of the tribune.
In this context, the associations call on "the government to act without delay to prevent violence against LGBT people much more effectively", and to "implement the necessary means" to enable them to "continue to go" without fear to the "places of welcome, support and conviviality" that constitute LGBT centers.