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# French minister urges legal action over Poland’s LGBTQ+ free zones
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/french-minister-urges-legal-action-over-polands-lgbtq-free-zones/
- Published: 2021-03-16T09:09:42.000Z
- Updated: 2021-03-15T12:08:16.000Z
- Description: Clément Beaune has urged the EU to take legal action over Poland’s rising number of ‘LGBTQ+ free’ zones.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, Queer Corner, Eu, Europe, France, gay, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+ free zones Poland, LGBTQ+ rights, Poland

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/clement-beaune-600-400.jpg)

Out gay French minister for European affairs, **[Clément Beaune](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/french-minister-comes-out-as-gay/),** has urged the **EU** to take legal action over **Poland’s** rising number of ‘LGBTQ+ free’ zones after recently being denied a visit to one of them by authorities. Polish authorities told Beaune that his visit may not be *“* *well received given the difficulties of the health situation”,* referring to the Covid-19 pandemic. Beaune was told he could cancel or postpone his visit, or follow through but without permission from the government.

Beaune, who previously vowed to address LGBTQ+ hostility in Poland, criticised the action of the authorities, saying: *“In my eyes, that is not how you one should behave with an EU member state.”* He then told leading French LGBTQ+ magazine, [*Têtu*](https://tetu.com/2021/03/11/zones-sans-lgbt-clement-beaune-appelle-a-utiliser-la-procedure-dinfraction-contre-la-pologne/?ref=scenemag.co.uk), that he intended to call for the EU to take legal action against Poland, adding: *“We need to use every possible tool to sanction these behaviors that are against our values and our rules.”*

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/eu-lgbt-600-400.jpg)

The EU recently declared its member countries as ‘[LGBTQ+ freedom](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/eu-declared-lgbtq-freedom-zone/)’ zones in response to the situation in Poland. The declaration states: *“LGBTQ+ persons everywhere in the EU should enjoy the freedom to live and publicly show their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear of intolerance, discrimination or persecution”,* suggesting countries which do not comply could face legal repercussions.

**Jacek Saryusz-Wolski,** a Polish MEP, criticised the EU’s new ruling, [telling a local radio station](https://rmx.news/article/article/polish-meps-european-parliament-s-lgbtiq-resolution-is-unnecessary-and-contains-false-information?ref=scenemag.co.uk) that there is no such thing as LGBTQ+ free zones: *“No one is bothered about the fact that the LGBTQ+ free zones are based on fake news. The EU is combating disinformation while permitting it at the same time.”*

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/eu-lgbt-flags-600-400.jpg)