France has some of the strongest LGBT protections in Europe, but far right groups are increasingly seeking to politicise the movement. A small anti-immigration “homo-nationalist” group has received backing to join Paris's annual pride march on Saturday.
A group calling themselves “gay patriots” said they plan to march at Paris Pride with police protection. Their announcement sparked backlash from LGBTQI+ activists, artists and lawmakers.
In a letter published in Le Monde, a collective of LGBT organisations and public figures – including Communist senator Ian Brossat and writer Virginie Despentes – condemned the presence of Eros, the group led by Yohan Pawer.
Pawer has ties to the far right National Rally and became known in 2023 for targeting drag queen events.
The authors of the letter argue the state is compromising the core ideas behind the march by protecting the group – similar to when far right groups were allowed to join feminist events earlier this year.
"Imposing the far right in LGBTQIA+ or feminist marches is more than just an affront: it is offering reactionary forces the means to appropriate spaces built by and for those they have always marginalised in order to annihilate them from inside," they wrote.
Gay rights still uncertain
France has strong anti-discrimination laws and legal gay marriage – unlike Hungary, where the government recently banned pride events.
Still many LGBTQI+ people in France say they do not feel safe or accepted. In its annual report, the rights group SOS Homophobie said attacks had remained high in 2024.
Trans people remain particularly vulnerable. SOS Homophobie reported a rise in open transphobia, systemic discrimination and online hate campaigns.
More than 80 percent of trans people said they had faced public discrimination in the last year – targeted by far right groups in France and abroad, who link anti-trans rhetoric with anti-immigrant views.
Pride poster backlash
Tensions grew earlier this month over the Paris Pride poster.
Titled Facing the International Reactionary: Queers of all Countries Unite, the poster shows a diverse group – including a woman in a headscarf and a person with a bag in the colours of the Palestinian flag – restraining a white male figure.
InterLGBT, which designed the poster, said the colours were not meant to be Palestinian but a nod to Hungary and Bulgaria, where pride events are banned.
Still, several LGBTQI+ organisations distanced themselves and far right politicians criticised what they saw as a political message.
Far right courting LGBTQI+
Yet the far right appears to be actively using LGBT identity to push nationalism while rejecting migrants and radical activists.
Groups like Eros portray homophobia as imported by migrants or coming from Muslim communities.
Eros says it wants to "really represent homosexuals in our country, who are today the main victims of LGBTQI+ excesses, of massive – very often homophobic – immigration and of the islamisation of our country".
The Le Monde open letter said that by giving Eros police protection, the government is directly involved.
“This interference must be named for what it is,” it said. “This decision compromises the organisation of an essential event, and acts as a warning to all minority organisations.”
