Thousands of people expected at the Pride march in Paris to defend LGBT+ rights

Floats, rainbow flags and protest signs: thousands of people will march this Saturday in Paris during the Pride march, to defend the rights of LGBT+ people. “We are a few months before the presidential election, so we call on LGBT+ people and allies to mobilize for a future based on solidarity,” comments Alexandre Schon, co-president of Inter-LGBT, which brings together around fifty associations and organizes the Parisian demonstration, to AFP. “We must stand up against the far right.”

The march will start at 1:00 p.m. at Place d'Italie in the south of the capital, with an arrival planned in eastern Paris, at Place de la Bastille, where a concert will be held. “We could be the next targets,” adds Alexandre Schon, recalling that abroad, such as in the United States or Senegal, the rights of LGBT+ people are “attacked”. Pride marches are organized locally by associations throughout France, often in June, in connection with the Stonewall riots, the founding mobilization of the LGBT+ movement, which took place on the night of June 27 to 28, 1969, in New York.

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Initially planned for the end of June, the Paris march was postponed at the request of the Paris police chief, who threatened to ban it due to the persistence of a heatwave which was putting a strain on emergency services and hospitals. Last year, the Parisian demonstration brought together 500,000 participants according to the organizers, less than 100,000 according to the police.