French anti gay marriage group intends to sue over fake blood protest

The French organisation against same-sex marriage, Manif Pour Tous, says it intends to sue HIV/AIDS support group Act Up over a fake blood protest aimed at its president.

DR/ screen capture

On Sunday, Act Up activists threw red liquid resembling blood and pasted posters reading “shame” and “homophobe” on the walls of the Jérome Lejeune Foundation, a genetic research firm in south-west Paris where the president of Manif Pour Tous, Ludovine de la Rochère, works as a communications manager.

Manif Pour Tous said the protest crossed the line.

“What happened was particularly scandalous given the fact that she [de la Rochère] works for a foundation known publicly for welcoming sick people,” Manif Pour Tous said.

The entrance to the Foundation’s consultation centre “was deliberately deteriorated by Act Up activists.”

Act Up said it acted in protest of Manif Pour Tous activists’ call for help during a rally outside the Russian embassy in May against same-sex marriage.

“Our activists poured fake blood in front of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation [as] a symbol of the real blood spilled by our sisters in Russia, which Manif Pour Tous and its supporters want to see spilled once again in France,” it said.

Russia has been heavily criticised after adopting a law in June banning what it calls “gay propaganda”.

Ludovine de la Rochère replaced Frigide Barjot at the head of Manif Pour Tous. The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation conducts research on chromosome 21 and also campaigns against abortion.