Aiming to surprise in the Paris municipal elections, the Macronist-right candidate Pierre-Yves Bournazel outlines his program on LGBT+ issues.
He has thought about it for twenty years, about this city hall. After joining François de Panafieu in 2006 under the UMP colors, Pierre-Yves Bournazel has been a municipal councilor of the Parisian right since 2008. Today affiliated with Horizons, the party of former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, the gay man from Auvergne, 48, faces, on behalf of the Macronists, Rachida Dati, whom he advised in communications when she was Minister of Justice under Nicolas Sarkozy. A few days before the first round of the municipal elections, he welcomes us on the top floor of a building in the lively Grands Boulevards district.
Sarah Knafo does not know the price of the Navigo pass, Emmanuel Grégoire knows the price of a pint at the Cox; do you know the price of admission to Tango?
Pierre-Yves Bournazel: It’s been a few years since I last went there… I would say 12 euros [that’s correct, editor’s note] because when I went, it was already cheaper than elsewhere. I plan to go back soon!
Au cours de cette campagne municipale, Le Nouvel Obs a attribué à Rachida Dati des propos sur un “club des homosexuels” qui voudrait la faire perdre, et que vous formeriez avec les macronistes Gabriel Attal et Clément Beaune. Vous qui la connaissez bien, pensez-vous qu’elle soit homophobe ?
I do not want to speculate, but what is reported is homophobic. If it wasn’t said by her, it is said by others. On social media, I am thus the target of an anonymous LGBTphobic campaign directed at Paris candidates who would be “de la jaquette”. The LGBTphobes, I tell them to go to hell— on foot, on horseback and in a car.
Mettez-vous dans le même sac Rachida Dati et la candidate zemmouriste Sarah Knafo ?
I still do not pre-judge, but I am uneasy when Rachida Dati cannot qualify Sarah Knafo as far-right. She is vice-president of Reconquête, Eric Zemmour’s party, which itself was convicted for contesting crimes against humanity. In the European Parliament, this party sits with the German AfD. The vagueness that Rachida Dati maintains about Sarah Knafo tells a lot about her variable-geometry values. I will never align with the ’extremism, with the populism, qu’il soit de droite ou de gauche. Moreover, madam Dati refused when she was an MEP to vote for a text banning “conversion therapies” in Brussels; when I was a deputy in the National Assembly, I voted for it for France.
Vous avez annoncé que vous ne prendriez pas position pour Rachida Dati ou pour Emmanuel Grégoire si vous n’êtes pas qualifié au second tour. Dans la mesure où vous avez été le conseiller de la candidate de la droite lorsqu’elle était ministre, ne serait-ce pas un soutien caché à sa liste ?
Some accuse me of favoring Emmanuel Grégoire, others of being a supporter of Rachida Dati. A majority of Parisians wants a change of the outgoing municipal team without wanting Rachida Dati as mayor. I am for a progressive leftist alternate government that has run Paris for 25 years, with a serious project because it is funded. My freedom and my independence of mind are at the service of Parisians.
Votre liste comporte pourtant des personnalités comme Florence Berthout, l’actuelle maire du Ve arrondissement, venue de la droite et qui s’est opposée à la PMA pour toutes…
Clément Beaune, Marlène Schiappa, Catherine Michaud… those around me are on a very progressive line. As a deputy, I myself voted for PMA for all. It is a line on which there is no “en même temps.”
Quel bilan faites-vous du double mandat d’Anne Hidalgo sur les sujets LGBT ?
On these issues, I have nothing negative to say. I have in fact voted for what has been done. I am a constructive elected official, and I have worked on the fight against discrimination with Jean-Luc Romero-Michel. What has been done, we will consolidate it, but my temperance does not prevent me from having plans for the future…
En 2024, vous aviez lancé une proposition de centre d’art dédié aux artistes LGBTQI+. C’est toujours d’actualité ?
From April onward, if I am elected, I will launch a prefiguration mission so that this centre opens in the next term. Everyone should be able to take ownership of the project behind a philosophy: it is a place of cultural and artistic expression designed to highlight talents. Minds are retreating worldwide on the rights of LGBT people, and culture must, conversely, open consciences. That is the mission of this place. It will also be an opportunity to create residencies for LGBTQI+ artists who suffer discrimination in their countries.
N’est-ce pas un projet concurrent des futures Archives LGBTQI+, ne serait-ce que financièrement ?
Not at all, these are two complementary projects. I have supported the legitimate struggles of the LGBTQI Archives collective, and I know how to find solutions. We have planned a savings plan to reduce Paris’s debt, which will allow us to invest in the projects that matter, such as culture whose budget will be increased. I want Paris to stay ahead culturally, so that the whole world looks at the city not only for its considerable heritage, but because we are inventing.
Les extrêmes droites gagnent du terrain à Paris comme ailleurs en France, et l’antisémitisme resurgit dans le débat politique. Comment abordez-vous ce contexte ?
In the face of LGBTphobias as well as racism and antisemitism, it is urgent to act so as not to let hate prosper. Regressions are possible, so we must be very solid. I have the character and the determination to defend these values that come from very far. I want to create a coalition of global cities to move toward the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. It is a global and humanist struggle for freedom.
Année après année, les rapports de SOS homophobie et les chiffres des autorités sont clairs montrent que les atteintes LGBTphobes sont en hausse. Comment protéger les personnes LGBTQI+ ?
I want to massively increase the staff of the municipal police, and every officer will be trained against discrimination. In addition to the police, every municipal agent (in libraries, pools, civil registry, etc.) will be trained. There are 52,000 civil servants who can raise awareness with people they meet outside of work. Changing one’s civil status when one is transgender, or having a child born via surrogacy recognized, should no longer be a battleground. That is what an inclusive city means.
Des bars LGBT se plaignent de la police. Y a-t-il un zèle des forces de l’ordre à l’endroit des établissements queers ?
I note that they complain… I am attached to these places that form the soul of Paris, and I am concerned to see the identity of the Marais disappear in favor of luxury boutiques. We must be able to party while preserving the sleep of residents. I want to help 1,000 establishments finance their acoustic insulation. We can also save businesses: for example I want to protect independent bookstores and cinemas, by updating the local urban plan so that their commercial destination cannot be changed nor can rents be raised. It is a positive philosophy, more than punishment.
Emmanuel Grégoire promet de doubler le financement des associations LGBT. Comptez-vous aller dans le même sens ?
I would believe him if he had only an economic plan! Emmanuel Grégoire wants to increase spending on everything. I am the candidate of ethical responsibility. LGBT associations will not lose funding but I will work more by project: I will increase support for new projects to protect Paris and fight discrimination.
Face au développement du chemsex, serez-vous davantage dans la prévention ou la répression ?
The priority must be to save lives. The city can fund associations that do prevention in its facilities but also in venues and nightlife spaces. We must push back this chemsex scourge that kills people. We can also hold dating platforms accountable.
Êtes-vous favorable à la pérennisation des salles de consommation à moindre risque ?
I have seen in other cities, Copenhagen for example, an approach that is both public health and security. It is necessary to accompany dependent people on a medical, social and psychological plan. And residents must also be able to live in safety. We can support these people by creating fewer fixed sites, with buses that go out to meet them.
Quelles figures LGBT vous inspirent ?
I think of Harvey Milk, who was politically engaged at a time when it was very difficult. Also Marguerite Yourcenar, because I love her writing, as well as Christophe Beaugrand and Jean-Baptiste Marteau, who both lead a visibility campaign, especially among younger people, to combat LGBTphobias.
