“Right here is Christine Delphy!” And there, Liliane Kandel! » On her tablet, the septuagenarian Anne-Marie Faure-Fraisse, activist of the Women’s Liberation Movement (MLF), recognizes the faces of her former comrades in struggle. She has carefully preserved some black and white shots captured through her lens on June 25, 1977.
As she scrolls through the photographs on the screen, a historic day comes to life: for the first time, nearly 300 people – mostly women – gathered in Paris to fight against the repression of the homosexuality. Just forty-five years later, on June 25, colorful floats and rainbow flags will take over the streets of Paris, as every year, for the 2022 edition of the Pride March.
“We came with a few sheets transformed into banners, we had no sound system. It was very simple as a demonstration, organized with the means at hand. And it became historic, recalls Marie-Jo Bonnet, 73, former member of the MLF, then a doctoral student at the University of Paris-VII.
“We are all American lesbians”
Often described as the first French Pride March, the June 25, 1977 demonstration was launched at the call of the MLF and the Homosexual Liberation Group – Politics and Daily Life (GLH-PQ) in solidarity with North American homosexuals who suffered virulent homophobic campaign carried out with fervor by the ultra-conservative folk singer Anita Bryant. With her motto, “Kill a homosexual for the love of Christ”, she campaigned in Florida to have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation repealed.
“At the MLF, we didn’t care about women’s sexuality. But there was a strong solidarity between us. » Anne-Marie Faure-Fraisse
” It was sunny », remembers Anne-Marie Faure-Fraisse. “Rather mixed” assures on its side Marie-Jo Bonnet. When the latter summons her memories, it’s a procession “very cheerful and who did not take himself seriously”, wandering around Place de la République in Belleville, resurrecting from the past. “All the girlfriends were there! », exclaims the historian, co-founder of Gouines Rouges, a radical lesbian feminist movement.
She insists on the power of friendship and solidarity that spread in the parade. “What is original is that it was women, lesbians and heterosexuals, who were at the initiative of the march”, says Anne-Marie Faure-Fraisse, then an architect and member of the Videa collective, which filmed feminist actions. On June 25, 1977, women united, as evidenced by the slogan “We are all American lesbians” inscribed on the banners. “At the MLF, we didn’t care about women’s sexuality. But there was a strong solidarity between us,” she explains.
You have 47.01% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.