While Rennes is hosting the Pride March this Saturday, June 17, a homophobic banner was discovered floating on top of a construction crane this morning. A banner, signed by a Celtic cross and quickly taken down by the firefighters.
“Fuck LGBT“, this is the homophobic message that dumbfounded passers-by discovered this morning, hoisted on top of a crane, 60 m high, on the construction site of an apartment building on rue de Nantes in Rennes.
“I find it ridiculous, asserts Chloé, 21, employed at the Galeries La Fayette in Rennes. VSreally is a waste of time. Why bother going up to display this? People do what they want with their bodies. “
“Freedom is for everyone“, adds Jocelyne, 83, who discovers the message flying in the wind.
Arrived on site around 9 a.m., the police officers from the Rennes police station noted that the access hatch to the crane boom was locked. They must call on the reconnaissance and intervention group in dangerous environments (GRIMP). One hour later, four of them reach the top of the crane and take down the 11m by 5m banner.
Two investigations are underway: one concerning the homophobic nature of the message, the other the violation of access to the site.
The message is signed by what appears to be a Celtic cross, a symbol often taken up by far-right identity groups. And the day does not seem to have been chosen at random. The pride march should start in a few hours in the city center of Rennes.
“We are not surprised“, assures Emma Guiguen, president of the association Iskis center LGBTI + Rennes, one of the organizers of the march. “The fachosphere has been agitated in Rennes for several months”adds the young woman, listing the latest feats of arms attributed to identity groups: student poster gluers beaten up, workshop on gender equality in Saint Senoux led by drag-queen artists and disturbed by activists from ‘far right.
To read: Callac, Carnac, Saint-Senoux or Saint-Brévin, acts of the far right that arouse emotion and questioning
An observation shared by Nathalie Appéré, the mayor of Rennes, outraged by the message:
“This ideology is not a simple intolerant opinion, it is a crime. We never forget the political aim underlying these actions: by stigmatizing categories of the population, the far right is attacking social cohesion , to induce fear and gain electoral benefit.”
Nathalie Appéré, Mayor of Rennes
“Homophobic attacks are nothing new, but we can see that it’s more organised.” analyzes the young activist. “And then when we normalize the uninhibited discourse of the far right on immigration via the media or politicians, it also emboldens it on other themes.”
A few hours before the start of the pride march, the organizers claim to have been vigilant about the security system, devised in consultation with the city, the prefecture, general information and the police. “It’s a day of celebration, we’re not going to psychosis.”
A pride march “Reindeer […] was the first to organize after Paris in 1994”, recalls Nathalie Appéré.