Two LGBTQ bars in France were vandalized with swastikas over the weekend.
Local elected official Boris Jamet-Fournier tweeted a picture of the downtown Paris gay bar Cox with swastikas painted on it early Monday morning, saying that he saw “the marks of hatred” this morning.
Related: Gay couple attacked with tear gas in their home after being blackmailed
Jamet-Fournier called the graffiti swastikas “a reminder that the fight against intolerance has never ended.”
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😵 Des inscriptions de haine dans notre cher #ParisCentre.
Découvrir ces tags par un beau matin d'été, après l'appel du Centre de Veille Opérationnelle, est un rappel que la lutte contre l'intolérance ne doit JAMAIS cesser. 🙅🏽♂️🙅🏼
Condamnation ferme.
Soutien au Cox.
😢 pic.twitter.com/yyPl4VoWMi— Boris Jamet-Fournier 🔥 (@boris_tweets) July 6, 2020
Last Friday, HIV and LGBTQ activist Jean-Luc Romero-Michel posted pictures of swastikas painted on the Banana Cafe, another downtown Paris LGBTQ bar.
“Paris is an inclusive city and, as [Mayor] Anne Hidalgo reminds us regularly, will never accept hatred and LGBTQI-phobes,” Romero-Michel wrote.
Total solidarité avec l’iconique bar #gay friendly @BananaCafeParis qui a été recouvert de croix gammées cette nuit.@Paris est une ville inclusive et, comme le rappelle si souvent @Anne_Hidalgo, n’acceptera jamais la haine et les LGBTQIphobies…
🏳️🌈 Pensées pour @MichelBanana ! pic.twitter.com/P3pLZuU8jf— Jean-Luc Romero-Michel (@JeanLucRomero) July 3, 2020
Dimitri Morvan, assistant director of the Banana Cafe, said that the graffiti happened in the middle of the afternoon while the bar was closed but was caught on security camera.
“In security camera footage, we can see three people put on ski masks near the bar,” he told Têtu. “Two of them stand watch while the other spray-painted.”
He said that the vandalism happened quickly and that those who did it ran away. “The crowd was shocked to see young men in ski masks running. Some of them must have thought there was a bomb.”
Cox owner Frédéric Hervé said that the attacks were “shameful.”
“First it was Banana, then it was Cox,” he said. “The LGBT+ community is clearly being targeted by these ignoble acts.”
Mayor Hidalgo shared an image of the vandalism and condemned it.
“These messages of hate and homophobia don’t have a place in Paris,” she wrote. “I hope that those responsible will be quickly identified and brought to justice.”
Je condamne avec la plus grande fermeté les inscriptions abjectes taguées sur le @BananaCafeParis et le #Cox. Tout mon soutien aux équipes. Ces messages de haine et l'homophobie n'auront jamais droit de cité à Paris. Je souhaite que les auteurs soient vite identifiés et jugés. https://t.co/HrMSjdiVaz
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) July 6, 2020
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