LGBT history in France
Encyclopedia
prior to 1600
- 10,000 years BC — Around the end of PaleolithicPaleolithicThe Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
, mankind started to make artifacts which suggest an appreciation of homosexual eroticismHomoeroticismHomoeroticism refers to the erotic attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female , most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the visual arts and literature. It can also be found in performative forms; from theatre to the theatricality of uniformed movements...
. Some examples, like graffiti, can be seen in some cave and hundreds of buildings and phallic statues and also a carved double dildoDildoA dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for bodily penetration during masturbation or sex with partners.- Description and uses :...
, seen as evidence for female masturbation found at Gorge d'Enfere, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - 1100 – Ivo of ChartresIvo of ChartresSaint Ivo ' of Chartres was the Bishop of Chartres from 1090 until his death and an important canon lawyer during the Investiture Crisis....
tries to convince Pope Urban IIPope Urban IIPope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on July 29 1099...
about homosexuality risks. Ivo accused Rodolfo, archbishop of ToursToursTours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, of convincing the King of France to appoint a certain Giovanni as bishop of OrléansOrléans-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. Giovanni was well known as Rodolfo's lover and had relations with the king himself, a fact of which the king openly boasted. Pope Urban, however, did not consider this as a decisive fact. Giovanni ruled as bishop for almost forty years, and Rodolfo continued to be well known and respected. - 1260 – In FranceFrance in the Middle AgesFrance in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Louis the Pious in 840 to the middle of the 15th century...
, first-offending sodomites lost their testicles, second offenders lost their member, and third offenders were burned. Women caught in same-sex acts could be mutilated and executed as well. - 1283 – The French Civil Code dictated that convicted sodomites were burned and had their property forfeited.
1600-1800
- 1791 – RevolutionaryFrench RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(and AndorraAndorraAndorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
) adopts a new penal codeFrench Penal Code of 1791The French Penal Code of 1791 was a penal code adopted during the French Revolution by the Constituent Assembly, between 25 September and 6 October 1791. It was France's first penal code, and was influenced by the Enlightenment thinking of Beccaria and Montesquieu.The principle of legality was...
which no longer criminalizes sodomy. France thus becomes the first West European country to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults .
1900-1960
- Marcel ProustMarcel ProustValentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
's In Search of Lost TimeIn Search of Lost TimeIn Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is popularly known for its considerable length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine." The novel is widely...
is published in France, marking the first time a modern Western author treats homosexuality openly in literature. - 1954 - Arcadie ClubArcadie ClubThe Arcadie Club was a French homophile organization established in the early 1950s by André Baudry, an ex-seminarian and philosophy professor.-Literary review:...
, the first homosexual group in France, is formed.
1960-1990
- 1971 - the first attempt at forming a gay male parade contingency took place during the traditional trade union march May DayMay DayMay Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
, despite objections from the Central Confederation of Labour to what the organization described as a "tradition alien to the working class". The same year, the leftist-oriented Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaireFront homosexuel d'action révolutionnaireThe front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire was a loose Parisian movement founded in 1971, resulting from a rapprochement between lesbian feminists and gay activists. If the movement could be considered to have leaders, they were Guy Hocquenghem and Françoise d'Eaubonne, while other members...
was organized, initiating a number of upstagings of various institutions in order to draw attention to the legal plight of homosexuals in French society and combat heterosexism. - 1974 - After being denied access to the Museum of Fine Arts (the traditional meeting place), the FHAR gradually ceased to exist. They were succeeded by a number of groups known as the Groupe de libération homosexuelle, which organized film viewings and journal publications.
- 1979 - the Euro-Mediterranean Summer Universities for Homosexuals are established, leading to the establishment in the same year of CUARH.
- 1981 - On April 4, CUARH organized the largest demonstration for the reform of the age of consent in Paris, resulting in a promise by president Francois MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
to do so the following year. - 1982 - France equalizes the age of consent; CUARH leads the first pride parade in French history in Paris.
- 1985 – France prohibits discrimination based on lifestyle (moeurs) in employment and services.
1990-1999
- 1998 - André Labarrère becomes first member of Parliament to come out as gay.
- 1999 - Pacte civil de solidaritéPacte civil de solidaritéIn France, a pacte civil de solidarité commonly known as a PACS /paks/ , is a form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage...
legalizes a form of domestic partnership; the organizing committee for Gay Pride in Paris is dissolved due to high amounts of debt, and replaced with Inter-LGBTInter-LGBTInter-LGBT is an umbrella group of 50 LGBT organisations in France.-Overview:It organises the Printemps des Assoces every April as well as the annual Gay marches. Its headquarters, located in Le Marais, has a library open to the public.Inter-LGBT is considered to be a lobby by its former spokesman...
.
21st century
- 2001 - Bertrand DelanoëBertrand DelanoëBertrand Delanoë is a French politician, and has been the mayor of Paris since 2001. He is member of the Socialist Party . Delanoë was born in Tunis, Tunisia to a French-Tunisian father and a French mother...
becomes first openly-gay politician elected mayor of Paris; from March to October, Paris is the largest city in the world to be governed by a gay mayor, until Klaus WowereitKlaus WowereitKlaus Wowereit is a German politician, member of the SPD , and has been the Mayor of Berlin since the 2001 state elections, where his party won a plurality of the votes, 29.7%. He served as President of the Bundesrat in 2001/02. His SPD-led coalition was re-elected in the 2006 elections...
is elected Mayor of Berlin. - 2011 - Bill to legalize same-sex marriage in France is defeated in conservative-majority National Assembly.