Monday, June 20, this volunteer, who wishes to remain anonymous, takes the road between Perpignan and Théza. As he arrived on a narrowing lane, his vehicle and that of another motorist touched at the level of the mirrors. A little later, the member of the association parks in Théza, that’s where the motorist, furious, disembarks.
“Neither one nor two, I don’t have time to move from my vehicle that he literally jumps on me, opens the door, starts shouting at me, slaps me, the glasses stay on the sidewalk”. The motorist then sees the badge of the LGBT+ association attached to the volunteer’s jacket. “And there followed a string of insults, homophobic remarks. I tried to reason with him, I couldn’t make him hear anything. He threw himself on me, strangling me and punching the face, head and body.”
A scene that shocks him, and leaves him with wounds still visible today. “And fortunately, it didn’t go any further. I was still very scared because I wondered if he was going to pull out a bladed weapon or if he was going to end up taking my breath away for good.”says the volunteer.
“It’s the first time I’ve been attacked”
“It’s the first time I’ve been attacked, we always think it’s happening to others. But one day or another, we are victims, unfortunately”, notes the member of the association. He reports a situation “unacceptable, we can’t live in a violent society like that”. The facts occur in the middle of Pride montha month of highlighting and raising awareness of the LGBT+ cause, and a few days before the Pride March organized by the Perpignan association, on July 2.
The man lodged a complaint with the Saint-Cyprien gendarmerie for violence resulting in temporary incapacity for work (ITT) of less than eight days and non-public insult due to sexual orientation.