French Europe Minister comes out as gay, will visit Polish ‘LGBT-free’ zone

[andy]

France's Europe Minister Clément Beaune

‘I am gay, and I have no problem saying it,’ says Clément Beaune.

French Minister for European Affairs Clément Beaune publicly came out as gay in an interview with French gay magazine Têtu, in which he also promised to support LGBTQ communities in Poland. 

“I am gay, and I have no problem saying it,” he told the magazine, prompted by a question on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer rights in Europe. He said he wanted to show his homosexuality was “not an obstacle” to becoming a minister. The full interview with Têtu will be published on Wednesday.

Beaune promised he would visit a Polish “LGBT-free” zone early next year, as well as bringing his support to a Polish abortion rights organization.

Hundreds of Polish municipalities have declared themselves “LGBT-free” zones. The Polish government offered in August to support towns that have lost EU funding because of this. 

“I wouldn’t want people to say I am fighting against “LGBT-free” zones because I am gay,” said Beaune, “It would be insulting to say I am leading that fight for myself.”

“However, as European affairs minister, I have an additional responsibility. I must fight for tolerance,” he added.

Beaune’s predecessor as European affairs minister, Amélie de Montchalin, wrote in a June POLITICO op-ed that “Europe should be leading by example” and denounced rising discriminations against LGBTQ people.

For now, however, Beaune has a Brexit-filled agenda in his role as European affairs minister. He has made multiple appearances in recent days expressing his support for European fisheries as high-stakes negotiations continue on a possible Brexit deal.

[CellarDweller]

LGBT-Free zones. Puhlease.

[eastofeden]

Him being a gay man puts him in a difficult position - but I like his response.

No matter if he does or doesn't enter the LGBT free zones he will be subject to critics and people will analyze his actions so his attitude is an asset.

[InbetweenDreams]

Forgive me for being an idiot, but what the fuck is a LGBT-free zone? I mean this sound like something that the US would come up with..

[Cridders88]

I'm guessing it's exactly what it sounds like, I am guessing LGBT people in those areas remain firmly in the closet. Poland isn't all that far from Russia so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. The fact that the Polish government is financially supporting these bigoted areas is grim. Clement has got a fight on his hands it seems.

More here : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT-free_zone

And a snippet from the Wikipedia article on LGBT ideology:

"In June 2020, Polish President Andrzej Duda drew international attention when he called LGBT an "ideology" and a form of "Neo-Bolshevism". Agreement party MP Jacek Żalek, stated in an interview that LGBT "are not people", "it's an ideology", which led to the journalist Katarzyna Kolenda-Zaleska [pl] asking him to leave the studio. The row caused controversy. The next day, Duda said at a rally in Silesia: "They are trying to convince us that [LGBT] is people, but it is just an ideology." He promised to "ban the propagation of LGBT ideology in public institutions", including schools, similar to the Russian gay propaganda law.[On the same day, PiS MP Przemysław Czarnek said on a TVP Info talk show, regarding a photo of a naked person in a gay bar, "Let's defend ourselves against LGBT ideology and stop listening to those idiocies about human rights or equality. These people are not equal to normal people."[url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-LGBT_rhetoric#cite_note-zionism-157][/url]

[InbetweenDreams]

OK, I wasn't sure what the deal was but that is pretty scary. Likewise, he is definitely wrong, being gay isn't an ideology, just as being straight isn't an ideology.

[Bookworm]

It's quite sad and disappointing isn't it. Poland is a member of the EU too! It's right wing Government is increasingly at odds with the progressive attitudes and values of Western Europe.