Fifty years after the Stonewall Riots, tens of thousands marched in the streets of Paris to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and denounce the violence and discrimination its members still face to this day.
Braving staggering sunrays on this Saturday, June 29, the rainbow crowd reached the Place de la République in the late afternoon after marching to the sound of techno music along the Boulevard de Sébastopol.
Given France’s current political calendar, the most prevalent issue raised by participants of the “Marche des Fiertés 2019” organized by the Inter-LGBT was certainly that of equality in terms of filiation, first of all the “PMA pour toutes” (Medically assisted procreation for all).
Paraders also highlighted the many struggles still affecting the community, such as the fight against AIDS (6,000 new HIV infections each year nation-wide) and the rise in homophic assaults and even murders, especially committed against trans women: Vanesa Campos in France, Hande Kader in Turkey, already a dozen in the United States since the beginning of the year.
Always a protest in itself, the Pride Parade also carried other messages in a decidedly international voice. Among the issues denounced across the march were gender inequalities, the lack of political action on climate, and the inhuman treatment of migrants from the waters of the Mediterranean to the Texas border.
Photos: © ST – Paris Lights Up