François Ruffin admits to having to "move forward" on LGBT rights, in response to criticism aimed at him

Criticized by some of his "rebellious" colleagues for having set aside a law on gender change in the name of "appeasement", the deputy of La France insoumise (LFI) François Ruffin admitted on Friday June 2 that he had to "progress" about this question

François Ruffin admits to having to "move forward" on LGBT rights, in response to criticism aimed at him

Criticized by some of his "rebellious" colleagues for having set aside a law on gender change in the name of "appeasement", the deputy of La France insoumise (LFI) François Ruffin admitted on Friday June 2 that he had to "progress" about this question.

On Thursday, the potential candidate for the 2027 presidential election was asked on FranceInfo about the lessons to be learned from the slap received in the Spanish local elections by the left-wing Podemos party, which worked on a law allowing free sex change. at 16 without parental consent.

The elected representative of the Somme then replied that in "a deeply fractured society in France", "we need appeasement, stability, we must rebuild bridges, repair the fractures and not dig them further, we should not not do everything that comes to mind". The Twitter account Le coin des LGBT had reacted strongly: “François Ruffin does not want a law making it easier to change his gender designation, because it takes “appeasement” for his party to come to power. »

"Clumsy at best, politically wrong at worst"

LFI MP Sophia Chikirou, close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, replied: “This is in no way a position of La France insoumise or of the parliamentary group. This statement, on this day, is at best clumsy, at worst a political mistake. »

His colleague Antoine Léaument had also regretted "a personal opinion which does not commit the movement", referring to the LFI program, which plans to authorize the change of gender in civil status.

On his Twitter account on Friday, François Ruffin said he said to his collaborators, leaving the set of Franceinfo: "My answer on gender, it's not right. “From civil unions to marriage for all, French society has made progress on the rights of LGBT people. She's ripe to do it again, to fill in the gaps, I'm sure," he added.

"On this subject, as on a lot of others, in all humility, I must progress," admitted Mr. Ruffin, who has shown for several weeks his intention to count for the presidential election of 2027. He mentioned again his priorities: "A dignified and peaceful life, with work, accessible leisure, decent housing, in a livable planet. But, he conceded, "this ideal does not exclude anyone, otherwise it is no longer one."