In various locations across France on Sunday, thousands of people gathered to show support for the rights of transgender individuals. This comes after right-wing senators proposed a ban on hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender young people.
A diverse group of LGBTQ+ activists, left-leaning parliament members, trade unionists, and young individuals participated in protests in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier, as per the Ministry of the Interior. Over 10,000 demonstrators attended, with the largest gathering at Paris’s Place de la Republique, an 8.4-acre public square frequently used for protests.
In the French capital, protesters chanted, “Opposed to male dominance, opposed to capitalism, showing support for transgender individuals worldwide!” according to Le Monde. The Socialist Party and left-leaning La France Insoumise party were among over 800 groups and individuals advocating for demonstrations.
“This is our everyday reality,” shared one of the organizers in Montpellier, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisal. “Currently, there is an urgent need to defend the rights of all people at a time when right-wing and far-right politicians are attacking the rights of transgender individuals and spreading false information about children identifying as transgender.”
Proposed anti-transgender legislation has been introduced in the French Parliament following a report on transgender minors that was commissioned by fringe lawmakers in the right-wing Les Républicains party, Le Figaro and Le Point reported on March 18. The legislation proposes a ban on gender-affirming hormone therapy and puberty blockers, which are commonly used to alleviate gender dysphoria in transgender youth. Most major American medical associations believe that such treatment is safe, effective, and essential for the well-being of transgender minors.
Senator Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio referred to gender-affirming treatment for transgender young people as a “growing phenomenon in the media and in public life,” while asserting that “all” foreign countries are rejecting these life-saving treatments. This assertion is false.
“Currently, it is being done too hastily, and young people are being directed toward a transition too quickly. Instead, they should receive support for their discomfort and be encouraged to seek psychiatric care,” the senator expressed.
The aforementioned report, authored by the Observatoire de la Petite Sirène (“Little Mermaid Observatory”), an organization known for its opposition to gender-affirming treatment for minors, is filled with alarmist language, labeling the practice as a “health scandal,” and “social contagion,” while highlighting painful “de-transitions.”
The conservative lawmakers’ calls for “psychiatric care” echo the report’s recommendations. Supporters of transgender individuals argue that such care “can be seen as an indirect endorsement of “conversion therapy,” a claim that the authors of the report reject.
The bill to implement the report’s recommendations is slated for debate on May 28.
