France Marks 40 Years Since Decriminalization of Homosexuality

On July 27, France marked 40 years since it repealed laws criminalizing consensual same-sex acts in 1982.

Recalling the era preceding 1982, Deputy Mayor of Paris Jean-Luc Romero-Michel described a police raid on notable gay bar Le Manhattan in 1977: “I had only been here for ten minutes when all the lights came on: police raid! We check your papers, we press you against the walls… For me, who was already having trouble accepting [being gay], it was quite violent.”

Police frequently swooped in to arrest men for "public indecency" at LGBTQ+ venues. Michel Chomorat recalls his arrest at the age of 21 in 1980 – along with eight others – one of the first times he visited a gay nightclub. He blames police provocation, describing it as "political homophobia at the highest level." He was fined 500 francs, around 76 euros, for being there. However, Chomorat felt that the fine was the least of the problems. He describes how being arrested and charged often outed men at a time when it was illegal and still taboo. "It could have led to suicides," he says.

In June, dozens of activists, organizations, and politicians signed an open letter calling on the French government to compensate those who were charged, as victims of "anti-gay repression." Between 1942 and 1982, an estimated 10,000 men were fined under the anti-gay laws. In 1981, with President Mitterand elected, France removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses – almost a decade before WHO did – and later that year repealed anti-gay laws dating back to the Nazi occupation of Vichy France which criminalized "unnatural acts." Since then, the civil rights movement has continued to take other victories, including same-sex marriage, conversion therapy bans, blood donation, and more.

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