Rehabilitation of French convicts of homosexuality: soon symbolic or financial reparation?

It also plans to create an independent commission to grant convicted persons an allowance of 10,000 euros, plus 150 euros for each day of deprivation of liberty.

In the first reading, the senators had refused to grant financial compensation due to "legal difficulties", but the principle was subsequently reinstated by the deputies.

Symbolic violence

The Socialist Senator Hussein Bourgi, who initiated the text, denounced the "symbolic violence" of those who reject compensation: "Why are LGBT people denied what has rightly been granted to other victims of mistreatment?" he asks. France notably compensates the Harkis, the French Muslims recruited as auxiliaries to the French army during the Algerian War (1954-1962), who were abandoned at the end of the conflict.

France is addressing the issue of reparations for homosexuals "very late." Many countries have already passed such laws, which are accompanied by "concrete actions," emphasizes Antoine Idier, sociologist and historian. Germany, for example, compensates victims and funds LGBT+ research and cultural programs.

The number of people eligible for compensation could be between 200, as in Spain, and 400, as in Germany, MPs estimated in March 2024 during debates on the bill. Senator Hussein Bourgi indicated that he had been contacted by "barely a few" affected people.

Many of them are very old. They are unable or unwilling to revisit a painful episode in their lives. At the time, a conviction for homosexuality could ruin one's social and professional life. Above all, the majority of those involved are already deceased.

In France, approximately 10,000 convictions were handed down under the article that established a specific age of consent, and approximately 40,000 for the reason of public outrage against homosexual indecency, according to Régis Schlagdenhauffen, a lecturer at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS). He is conducting research to "refine these estimates because some territories had specific policies," police surveillance of homosexuals was intense, and "denunciations" were numerous.

Other laws also served to suppress homosexuality in France. Those convicted were mainly men who paid fines or received prison sentences.

What do the associations think?

Associations welcome the proposed law, although some have some reservations. For Stéphane Corbin, coordinator of the Angers LGBTI+ center, it's a way to "keep in mind" this policy of discrimination and show that "we don't want this to happen again."

Terrence Khatchadourian, Secretary General of Stop Homophobia, also believes that this is a "way to show that we know how to learn lessons" from the past, a "duty to current and future generations." However, he deplores the overly restrictive text, which "excludes many of the people concerned": "all those convicted before 1942, but also those harassed by the police or interned in hospital." The activist also regrets the prevarication surrounding financial compensation: "We want a real apology, a work of remembrance, and concrete measures to repair this dark part of our history."