Plaque Commemorating Gay Couple Is Defaced in Paris

A plaque commemorating the execution of a gay couple in Paris has been defaced.

SOS Homophobie, a group that fights against ant-LGBTQ bigotry in France, tweeted a photo of the ruined plaque Monday. As seen in the picture, the plaque's surface had been splattered with black paint and covered with antigay signs that attack same-sex parents. "To make a child I must be a man and not gay," reads the text.

"We condemn this unbearable homophobic act of which the perpetrators must be punished. Let us all be united, all, against hatred," the group stated on Twitter. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, retweeted the statement.

The plaque honors Bruno Lenoir and Jean Diot, a couple that was executed and whose bodies were burned on July 6, 1750. They were the last to die by execution in France for homosexuality, which was decriminalized in 1791 during the French Revolution.

This is the second time the plaque has been attacked this year. Flowers placed there were set on fire in May.

The most recent defacement occurs during the Gay Games, an international competition of LGBTQ athletes held from August 4 to 12. The French government and major businesses like Renault and General Electric have supported the event, even as France itself struggles with a surge in antigay attacks, which have spiked 15 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to SOS Homophobie.

A previous version of this article stated that Bruno Lenoir and Jean Diot were burned alive. The Advocate regrets this error.