@Zenos7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_France
Hate crime laws
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On 31 December 2004, the National Assembly approved an amendment to existing anti-discrimination legislation, making homophobic, sexist, racist, xenophobic etc. comments illegal. The maximum penalty of a €45,000 fine and/or 12 months' imprisonment has been criticised by
civil liberty groups such as
Reporters Without Borders as a serious infringement on free speech. But the conservative
Chirac Government pointed to a rise in anti-gay violence as justification for the measure. Ironically, an MP in Chirac's own UMP party,
Christian Vanneste, became the first person to be convicted under the law in January 2006 although this conviction was later cancelled by the
Court of Cassation after a refused appeal.
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The law of December 2004 created the
Haute autorité de lutte contre les discriminations et pour l'égalité (
High Authority against Discrimination and for Equality). Title 3 and articles 20 and 21 of the law amended the
Law on the Freedom of the Press of 29 July 1881 to make provisions for more specific offenses including injury, defamation, insult, incitement to hatred or violence, or discrimination against a person or group of persons because of their gender, sexual orientation or disability. When a physical assault or murder is motivated by the sexual orientation of the victim, the law increases the penalties that are normally given.
In October 2018, after a rise in a series of
homophobic attacks,
President Emmanuel Macron denounced the homophobic violence as being "unworthy of France", announcing future "concrete measures". He tweeted: "Homophobic violence must be a concern for our entire society. They are unworthy of France. Concrete measures will be announced but they [cannot] replace humanity and tolerance which are at the heart of our culture", without specifying the content of these future measures.
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A report released on 16 May 2020, right before the
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, showed that homophobic and
transphobic attacks and insults rose by 36% in 2019. Police identified around 1,870 victims of transphobic and homophobic attacks. In 2018, the figures were around 1,380.
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