Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Gay French minister says Polish government threatened to cancel meetings if he visited ‘LGBT free zone’

French Europe Minister Clément Beaune said Thursday that the Polish government had threatened to cancel his official meetings during a trip to the country if he visited a village that has declared itself an "LGBT-ideology free zone".

Published: 11 March 2021 15:36 CET
Gay French minister says Polish government threatened to cancel meetings if he visited 'LGBT free zone'
French Junior Minister for European Affairs Clément Beaune. Photo by BENOIT TESSIER / POOL / AFP

During a two-day trip to Poland this week, Beaune, who is gay, had planned to stop in the village of Krasnik to highlight its anti-LGBT stance.

“They didn’t want me to go there. They didn’t physically prevent me, it was political pressure,” Beaune told France Inter radio.

The Europe minister said he was informed that “if I went there, there wouldn’t be any official meetings during the trip.”

Beaune, who came out publicly as gay in December, has previously called the existence of “LGBT-free zones” in Poland an “absolute scandal” amid a long-running row between the EU and the populist right-wing Polish government.

Beaune decided not to visit Krasnik, but he met gay and women’s rights activists in Warsaw. He held talks with his counterpart in the Polish government, Konrad Szymanski, on Tuesday.

He has vowed to return to the country and travel to one of the anti-gay zones.

“I think it’s serious, but I don’t want to cause a controversy with a government,” Beaune said. “What is very serious is the situation on the ground, not my personal case.”

With support from the government, several regions have declared themselves free from “LGBT ideology” in Poland to protest against support for gay rights from Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, an opposition leader. 

Polish Deputy Foreign Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek said that Beaune had not been prevented from visiting Krasnik.

“No Polish authority forbade or prevented the French minister from visiting Krasnik. These kinds of suggestions are not conducive to the good atmosphere surrounding the visit and to our relationship,” he wrote on Twitter earlier in the week.

“We will clarify this matter with the French embassy.”

Human Rights Watch called the Polish government’s decision to pressure Beaune “shameful”.

Member comments

  2. The EU has human rights and they have chosen not to adhere. Let Poland leave, they are better off with Russia.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Macron ready to ‘open debate’ on nuclear European defence

French President Emmanuel Macron is ready to "open the debate" about the role of nuclear weapons in a common European defence, he said in an interview published Saturday.

Published: 28 April 2024 13:10 CEST
Macron ready to 'open debate' on nuclear European defence

It was just the latest in a series of speeches in recent months in which he has stressed the need for a European-led defence strategy.

“I am ready to open this debate which must include anti-missile defence, long-range capabilities, and nuclear weapons for those who have them or who host American nuclear armaments,” the French president said in an interview with regional press group EBRA.

“Let us put it all on the table and see what really protects us in a credible manner,” he added.

France will “maintain its specificity but is ready to contribute more to the defence of Europe”.

The interview was carried out Friday during a visit to Strasbourg.

Following Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, France is the only member of the bloc to possess its own nuclear weapons.

In a speech Thursday to students at Paris’ Sorbonne University, Macron warned that Europe faced an existential threat from Russian aggression.

He called on the continent to adopt a “credible” defence strategy less dependent on the United States.

“Being credible is also having long-range missiles to dissuade the Russians.

“And then there are nuclear weapons: France’s doctrine is that we can use them when our vital interests are threatened,” he added.

“I have already said there is a European dimension to these vital interests.”

Constructing a common European defence policy has long been a French objective, but it has faced opposition from other EU countries who consider NATO’s protection to be more reliable.

However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the possible return of the isolationist Donald Trump as US president has given new life to calls for greater European defence autonomy.

SHOW COMMENTS