France in shock after boy commits suicide due to homophobic bullying

Metz, France:

The suicide of a 13-year-old French boy, who was subjected to homophobic bullying at school, has prompted expressions of shock in the country and warnings that homophobia kills.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the abuse of a minor after the boy, Lucas, committed suicide last weekend in the Vosges region of eastern France.

Regional prosecutor Frederic Nahon said late Thursday that the boy’s friends told investigators he had been “bullied by pupils at his school for several months because of his homosexuality”.

The prosecutor said the family had not yet filed a criminal complaint, but that the situation at the Louis Armand school in the city of Golbe had been reported to the Ministry of Education.

French Education Minister Pap Ndiye wrote on Twitter, “I am thinking of all students like her who are bullied. Her despair is the basis of my determination to stop all forms of bullying.”

Transport Minister Clement Bunin, who came out as gay in 2020 while serving as Minister for Europe, tweeted: “Homophobia kills. Sadness and support for Lucas’ family.”

“It is intolerable,” added Diversity Minister Isabel Rome. He added, “All the light that needs to be shed on this tragedy and the homophobic circumstances surrounding it.”

Catherine Favre, a lawyer representing the boy’s family, told AFP the family “wanted to bury their son in peace” before filing the complaint.

The funeral is scheduled for Saturday in the city of Epinal. The Stop Homophobia anti-discrimination charity said its parents would ask mourners to hold up LGBTQ signs in solidarity.

The local education authority said Lucas had been the target of “jokes” at school since the end of the September holidays.

“This was immediately taken seriously by the school teams who showed great care on a daily basis,” it said.

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