Facing political and economic pressures denounced by LGBT+ establishments in Paris, the ecologist mayor of the capital’s 11th arrondissement, David Belliard, calls for recognizing a specific status of “general-interest commerce” and thus being able to assist them more.
In Paris, and particularly in the 11th arrondissement, many queer-owned businesses are in danger. Targeted by harassment and/or economically fragile, these venues where a new page of LGBTQIA+ culture is emerging in the capital risk disappearing. And that would be a catastrophe for the people who frequent them, but also for the culture and the vibrancy of Paris.
Bars, bookstores, cafés, and queer spaces are not merely businesses. They are also spaces of mutual aid, sociability, and respite, safe spaces where everyone can be who they want to be, freely. They are places where people who are too often marginalized can meet, gather, and express themselves freely. In a word, they are not just places of consumption: they are places of emancipation. Today, this richness is under threat.
Violence in front of LGBT+ bars
On the one hand, economic difficulties are weakening these establishments, facing rising commercial rents and real estate speculation, but also changes in behaviors linked to what could be called the digitization of dating.
On the other hand, LGBTQIAphobic violence is multiplying and continues to worsen. The petition launched on April 28 by a collective of Parisian and Île-de-France LGBTQIA+ bars, including several establishments in the 11th arrondissement such as Speechless, Merci Marsha, We Are Brewers, and Furie, continues to alert to serious incidents: insults, repeated intimidations, and even assaults. These violences are neither anecdotal nor isolated. The unjustified search of the Violette and Co bookstore, following a controversy over a coloring book recounting the history of Palestine, has intensified a climate of tensions.
Facing this situation, I fear, like many, that these businesses will disappear. Yet, currently, the legal framework is inadequate, its main objective being to guarantee free competition. If there are possible mechanisms, they are still too restrictive and do not allow or are not sufficient to target businesses with a general-interest vocation.
To simplify, in the eyes of the legislator, there is virtually no difference between an international fashion franchise, a high-end concept store, or a queer bar. Behind the sole and unique term “commerce” lies a multitude of very different actors. Only cultural establishments – primarily bookstores – benefit from a singular status. This prevents effective action.
Queer General-Interest Mission
We know that the disappearance of certain businesses is explosive for the local social fabric. One only has to observe the correlation between the end of local shops and the rise in National Rally (RN) voting in territories. It is high time to consider that certain businesses fulfill a general-interest mission, through the connections they create, through the services they provide, and through the social and environmental value they help generate. These general-interest businesses, in which queer enterprises have ample room—because they are inclusive, because they fight loneliness and isolation, because they are places of prevention, information, and guidance for vulnerable people, because they are open stages for a whole swath of independent cultural creation—must be officially recognized.
Of course, Paris must make an extra effort to support these places, but it is also necessary to create a specific designation for general-interest businesses. This naming could, for example, grant access to favorable lease contracts and to direct aid from the state as well as from local authorities, and thus from the City of Paris. Queer businesses should be the first beneficiaries. It would be a concrete action in support of LGBTQIA+ people.
We need to equip ourselves with these new tools to continue to sustain all cultures and the social ties and solidarity they entail. These queer businesses need them. It is now, and it is urgent!
