At least three homophobic ambushes took place in April in Dijon. For several years, the surroundings of Lake Kir, frequented by cruising enthusiasts, have been the scene of a series of assaults that the authorities have been unable to curb.
In Dijon, homophobic ambushes announce more reliably than swallows the return of warmer days… A month after the visit to the Burgundy capital by Aurore Bergé, the Minister for Equality, who came to present at the end of March a plan against violence targeting gays on dating apps, three homophobic ambushes were recorded during the second half of April, according to France 3 Bourgogne.
The first publicly disclosed assault concerns a 57-year-old man passing through Dijon who had discovered online the possibility of cruising near Lake Kir. As he approached a bush, he was grabbed and beaten by three youths who delivered blows and homophobic insults for about ten minutes before attempting, in vain, to rob him, a police source told the local television. The prosecutor opened an investigation for assault on the basis of the victim’s sexual orientation.
Gays targeted via Grindr
Two other investigations have been opened into homophobic assaults, with a similar scenario, carried out in April. Two other men were indeed attacked by “several attackers” after agreeing to meet on a dating app. The Aides Dijon association reports having received other reports of “several recent assaults (…) in the context of meetings via Grindr”.
For the time being, the police have made no arrests. Known in the region as a cruising spot, Lake Kir is regularly the scene of violent homophobic assaults, as we had reported last summer in a report on the ground.
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