A French Kiss-In to fight homophobia

You might have missed reports on it, as it wasn't exactly the doom and gloom sort of story that fills column inches and makes the headlines of news bulletins.

So just in case you did, here's a reminder of a demonstration that took place at the end of last month in towns and cities throughout the whole of France and is due to be repeated in December.

A Kiss-In to fight homophobia.

The idea is simple, not to feel ashamed or embarrassed at showing affection to a same-sex partner and to show tolerance.

"Why is the only time we can see gay men and lesbians kiss each other in the street other than in the Marais (a neighbourhood in Paris with many gay cafés, clubs and shops) is during Gay Pride?" the organisers of the Kiss-In ask on their blog.

"How come heterosexuals can kiss in public without it really disturbing anyone?"

The first Kiss-In, organised at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on June 7 may only have attracted 20 or so people, but that didn't put the organisers off and a second one took place in Dijon just over a month later.

But those behind the idea took it one step further and decided to go nationwide.

Of course social media sites and blogs have helped spread the word.

The "Kiss-in contre l'homophobie !" Facebook group already has almost 2,000 fans (and growing).

And that, as you can see from the video, undoubtedly helped rally support in the French capital as couples (homo- and heterosexual) gathered at the underground modern shopping precinct of Forum les Halles to - well, kiss.



It wasn't just in Paris though. there were similar Kiss-Ins organised at the same time in towns and cities around the country such as Lille; Dijon, Lyon and Marseille.

Baisers : opération "kiss-in" (Lyon)
par telelyonmetropole

The hope of the organisers is that when the next nationwide Kiss-In takes place on December 12, even more couples - and not just same sex ones -will turn up.

And perhaps the idea will be picked up by groups abroad so that the event becomes an international Kiss-In to fight homophobia.