At Pride march in Paris, activists demand racial justice too

Source: AP

By ARNO PEDRAM

PARIS (AP) — Grassroots LGBTQ groups marched through Paris led by activists of color Saturday as part of Global Pride observances, protesting police violence and demanding more political actions on behalf of migrants, sex workers and other marginalized members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

While the French capital’s official Pride parade was postponed until November to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, thousands of people turned out anyway for a festive, politically driven march that echoed the themes of recent international protests against racial injustice.

Marchers chanted “It’s my body, it’s my choice!” and “Everyone hates the police!” as the young, ethnically diverse crowd wound peacefully from the Pigalle neighborhood in northern Paris to Republique plaza in the east. Many of the participants wore protective face masks.

The virus has forced organizers in cities around the world to cancel, postpone or adapt their Pride parades this year, frustrating activists who want to collectively mark the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride parades and marches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in 1970.



Young demonstrators dance at the start of the annual Gay Pride march in Paris, France, Saturday, July 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Benjamin Girette)


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