As a youth leader for France’s right wing National Front, Julien Rochedy has earned the title “beau bigot.” It’s not hard to understand why. In a radio interview, Rochedy has called for instituting Russian-style laws to ban “LGBT propaganda in schools” and “in the streets.”
Rochedy, 25, is a photogenic pin-up for the ultra-conservative National Front, better known for its opposition to immigrants. During last year’s sometimes violent protests against marriage equality, the party was content to let the Catholic Church and politicians from other parties take the lead, even though it is opposed to same-sex marriage. However, the party has been trying to moderate its image, threatening to sue journalists who dub it far-right.
Rochedy’s comments won’t do much for the rebranding. When asked about the violent attacks against the LGBT community that accompanied Russia’s crackdown, he dismissed them as “complete nonsense.” Which will come as a surprise to this victim, this victim, and this victim of Russian homophobia, to name just a few. No wonder Rochedy has also been called “petit Putin.”
Photo credit: National Front
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2eo
I’m really glad my Grandad killed dozens of his Vichy friends in the war.
RainboWarrioR
can we find no peace? is there nowhere for us to comfortably rest our heads and live in love and harmony? this is what we all want but we are never allowed it. it is always denied us. no matter how many of these monsters we slay in legal fight after legal fight, there is always someone worse to take control.
Tookietookie123
That bill will fly just as well as the Hindenburg, it won’t. They can try as hard as they can, but conservatives won’t be able to pass such a law in a western nation unless France wants to be a pariah in the eyes of the other western nations, but then again, hell did freeze over recently.
JaredNorthcutt30
But what does he look like with his shirt off?
Mike
Look at that picture and tell me that’s not a closet case.
tricky ricky
@Mike: my thought exactly
tricky ricky
@Tookietookie123: @Tookietookie123: the hindenburg flew quite well. it would have ended well if they had not been forced to use hydrogen instead of helium
TheNewEnergyDude
@Mike: Funny Mike, that was actually my first thought also. Or was it just my subconscious projecting that I wish he was gay, because like Jared, I’d be interested to find out what he looks like with his shirt off. Too bad he’s just he’s not as beautiful inside. 🙁
litper
What a HOMO! Just like those shirtless homoerotic homophobes.
Daniel-Reader
Looks can be taken away in an instant.
hephaestion
I hope that poor Closet Case Julien Rochedy learns to love himself before he loses his good looks.
doug105
What’s needed is a ban on people indoctrinating other peoples kids with their sky fairy tales.
AuntieChrist
@RainboWarrioR: All you have to do is look at the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s Harvey Milk was our M.L.K. Breeders be gettin pissed guurl and it’s gonna get more ugly.
beaubourg
Unfortunately this guy is not even closeted. The good thing is that no one knew him (apart from behind) before this stupid comment. He’s just trying to survive in the filthy fishtank of his extreme right wing friends. He doesn’t even deserve to be mentionned here. He will be forgotten within a few months.
jimbryant
Oh but he’s so handsome!! I will believe anything he says. I’ll even donate to his causes…\sarcasm off
Palto
His hate makes him ugly.
Harley
Beaty fades. Dumb is forever.
Harley
Sorry. Beauty.
robirob
Rochedy’s hatemongering is so transparent. He is fanning the flames of homophobia in order to accumulate more power.
the other Greg
What’s that plastic bracelet on his right wrist? In the US that would be an automatic “queer” signifier.
2eo
Not sure why pointing out France has supported humanity be refusing to give in to fascist demands was worthy of deletion, but lets keep the anti gay, anti semitism and west hating by Jim and BJ eh Queerty.
kayakriver
he’s in need of a spanking.
Joincny
This only confirms that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
the other Greg
If France ever starts a “gay propaganda” ban, this guy won’t be able to go outside.
LubbockGayMale
Read your history books folks, esp. the period after WW1 when Hitler began to take charge. We’re seeing the same old shite from many fronts, but this time around it’s focused on the gays and the immigrants, with the ‘Jewish problem’ left out of the equation. Guess I’ll settle for my version of hell here in the USA, and not visit France, et al.
KittyLitter
awww but he’s so pretty.
oldbrit
Just watch. It will turn out that Julien Rochedy of France’s right wing National Front is a pedophile or a self-loathing closet-case. That’s the way it usually is with perverts like Rochedy. They seem to think that if they rant and rail against their own “perversities” no one will figure out that they’re a member of the group they attack. They mistakenly believe they have the power and control to “enjoy” themselves in secret, but eventually they get found out.
FOKI
I’m French and that’s the first time I see him and hear about this crazy idea of french gay propaganda ban. And the last one I hope. We don’t need that man to know how racist and homophobic National Front is, no matter what the party does to moderate its image.
By the way, we say “une petite putain” (no masculine form 😉
Billysees
@RainboWarrioR:
Your comment here is very interesting. Haven’t heard anyone say these things before. I’ve thought as you’ve expressed here.
But after over 40 years of observing the gay community and the public, political and religious response to it, I’ll easily say that it is necessary to take a second look at your assertions and you’ll see a much brighter outcome.
Each point you make is only partially so, at this time. And “all things” are slowly moving “in our favor” all the time.
The real questions you may want to ask is — why do good things that happen to us take so long to happen?
Kangol
@RainboWarrioR:
I understand your desire for peace. But when you are a minority, racial, ethnic, religious, social, sexual, you have to always be ready to fight for your equality and those like you. You also should be willing to push for social and political equality overall, because of some of us are not free, none of us are truly free. People with power will allow oppression to continue and sometimes act benevolently, but when you fight back you MAKE THEM change their ways.
Nothing that gay people (like black Americans, etc.) have gained in this country has been handed to us on a silver plate. Nothing. Every change that has come has been through an active push. There are many gays who are ashamed of this, who think that we are “given” things if we conform, etc., but the truth is, what we have gained we have fought for. Just as black people fought tirelessly before the Civil War to end slavery, ran away, agitated actively, sued states, pushed the Northern states to end slavery and then began importuning Lincoln to end slavery, which he did not want to do, gay people have had to fight to get what we have. I know it’s not cute to talk about or a lot of this history gets obscured, but even gay “allies” like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have to be pushed. And we see what we gain in the end.
So in France, which has a left government–not a right-wing government; this nut Rochedy’s party does not control any part of France’s national government–gay people have to keep fighting. But in general in France gay rights are fairly secure. The same is true of Germany (which sent gay people to concentration camps, and had homophobic laws on the books for a long time), the United Kingdom (which had a horribly anti-gay law on its books until the 1960s), in Italy, in Poland, etc. Look at Russia, which did not have anti-law legislation until recently, even though the country was not especially gay friendly. Gay people there and across the globe aren’t taking Russia’s anti-gay shift lying down. We can’t and we won’t. Fight back.