Latest news with #JeanLucVerna
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Paris reveals memorial to LGBTQ victims of Nazi regime and other persecutions
A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday. The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. "Historical recognition means saying 'this happened' and 'we don't want it to happen again,'" Hidalgo said. Describing the sculpture that looks like a big star wand lying on the ground, Verna, a visual artist who also is a LGBTQ+ rights activist, said : "There's a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember. ... At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow on the ground, evoking the dangers looming over, sadly." The other side of the star, silvery, reflects the sky. It represents "the color of time passing, with the Paris sky moving as quickly as public opinion, which can change at any moment," Verna said. French artist Jean-Luc Verna speaks to media during the inauguration of his sculpture, a memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history, in Paris, Saturday, May 17, 2025. Christophe Ena / AP Historians estimate between 5,000 and 15,000 people were deported throughout Europe by the Nazi regime during World War II because they were gay. Jacques Chirac in 2005 was the first president in France to recognize these crimes, acknowledging LGBTQ+ people have been "hunted down, arrested and deported." Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist, said "we didn't know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we're going through right now." Referring to policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Romero said "we've never experienced such setback in the United States, with what's happening to trans people." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has issued orders to recognize people as being only man or woman, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for women, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court. In Europe, Hungary's parliament passed this year an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Paris unveils a memorial to LGBTQ+ victims of Nazi regime and other persecutions
PARIS (AP) — A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday. The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. 'Historical recognition means saying 'this happened' and 'we don't want it to happen again,'' Hidalgo said. Describing the sculpture that looks like a big star wand lying on the ground, Verna, a visual artist who also is a LGBTQ+ rights activist, said : 'There's a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember. ... At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow on the ground, evoking the dangers looming over, sadly.' The other side of the star, silvery, reflects the sky. It represents 'the color of time passing, with the Paris sky moving as quickly as public opinion, which can change at any moment," Verna said. Historians estimate between 5,000 and 15,000 people were deported throughout Europe by the Nazi regime during World War II because they were gay. Jacques Chirac in 2005 was the first president in France to recognize these crimes, acknowledging LGBTQ+ people have been 'hunted down, arrested and deported.' Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist, said 'we didn't know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we're going through right now." Referring to policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Romero said 'we've never experienced such setback in the United States, with what's happening to trans people.' Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has issued orders to recognize people as being only man or woman, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for women, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court. In Europe, Hungary's parliament passed this year an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.
Washington Post
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Paris unveils a memorial to LGBTQ+ victims of Nazi regime and other persecutions
PARIS — A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday. The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.
Associated Press
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Paris unveils a memorial to LGBTQ+ victims of Nazi regime and other persecutions
PARIS (AP) — A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday. The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. 'Historical recognition means saying 'this happened' and 'we don't want it to happen again,'' Hidalgo said. Describing the sculpture that looks like a big star wand lying on the ground, Verna, a visual artist who also is a LGBTQ+ rights activist, said : 'There's a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember. ... At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow on the ground, evoking the dangers looming over, sadly.' The other side of the star, silvery, reflects the sky. It represents 'the color of time passing, with the Paris sky moving as quickly as public opinion, which can change at any moment,' Verna said. Historians estimate between 5,000 and 15,000 people were deported throughout Europe by the Nazi regime during World War II because they were gay. Jacques Chirac in 2005 was the first president in France to recognize these crimes, acknowledging LGBTQ+ people have been 'hunted down, arrested and deported.' Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist, said 'we didn't know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we're going through right now.' Referring to policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Romero said 'we've never experienced such setback in the United States, with what's happening to trans people.' Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has issued orders to recognize people as being only man or woman, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for women, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court. In Europe, Hungary's parliament passed this year an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Paris gets memorial for gay victims of persecution
The city of Paris on Saturday inaugurated a memorial dedicated to people persecuted for being homosexual during the Second World War but also "throughout history", mayor Anne Hidalgo said. The three-ton installation was erected near the Bastille in central Paris to mark International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. "Recognition means to say 'this happened' and to say 'we don't want this to happen again'," Hidalgo said. "We must fight against denial and trivialisation," she said, adding: "Today there are powerful and extremely dangerous headwinds that would like to deny this kind of diversity." The monument, by artist Jean-Luc Verna, consists of an large star-shaped structure made of steel. Unlike cities like Sydney, Barcelona or Amsterdam, Paris rejected incorporating the yellow star that Nazis made Jews wear in the installation. This, officials said, was to allow current victims of persecution to be included in the tribute. "It is important that this memorial be not just a simple symbolic tribute, but a transmission tool, a public act of recognition and a space for questions about past discriminations but also those that continue today," said Jean-Baptiste Trieu, president of the "Les de la mémoire" association that fights against discrimination of LGBTQ+ people. "Rights are never won forever," he said. Artist Verna said that downward facing black side of the star represents "the burned bodies, the mourning but also the shadow, warning us that these things can happen again". The upward side, mirroring the sky, "represents the present, with the colours of passing time and the sky over Paris that changes as quickly as public opinion can turn", he said. According to historians' estimates, between 5,000 and 15,000 people in Europe were sent to concentration camps during World War II by the Nazi government for being homosexual. Figures for France alone range from around 60 to around 200. After decades of near-silence surrounding such persecutions in wartime France, former prime minister Lionel Jospin publicly addressed the issue in 2001, launching a process of recognition that was continued by former president Jacques Chirac. mep/jh/cw
