NO, ELLES BAR WASN’T THE FIRST GAY BAR IN PARIS, BUT IT’S CONTINUING A LEGACY…

Earlier this summer, Paris celebrated a big milestone when the city unveiled a historical plaque commemorating the first gay bar in the Marais. The ceremony at the end of May was joyous, and The Gay Locals were there to be a part of it.

When Le Village began operating on rue du Plâtre in 1978, it was a first. The first gay bar without blacked-out windows that opened onto the street, it was a big change. It marked a momentous step for Paris’s LGBTQ+ scene, which had previously been victim to the harassment and raids that led to the uprising at Stonewall Inn over in New York City. Paris had no such riot, but Le Village proudly led to the creation of other gay and lesbian spaces across Paris, concentrated in the Marais neighborhood, that today still qualifies as the “gayborhood” of Paris. And the only real one in France, for that matter.

So, finally, after years of touring the Marais and telling visitors about this, we now have a plaque we can point to with all of the information, including the names of its founders, Joël Leroux and Jean-Claude Zamora.

A crowd gathered on May 26, serenaded by a beautiful operatic drag performance, and then a slew of speeches from members of the government and queer community. France loves its speeches, but each one was a vital reminder of the importance of visibility for the LGBTQ+ community. Having queer spaces and experiences is important for every single individual who comes to Paris to find others like themselves. To feel safe. To feel loved. To feel embraced.

it’s not a given everywhere in the world that LGBTQ+ travelers will be tolerated, let alone accepted. Paris is special that way.

At the end of the speeches, the officials finally unveiled the plaque and the street erupted into celebration. It’s reassuring that the former location of Le Village is now Elles Bar, a new lesbian bar that continues to incarnate the mission begun at Le Village.

As LGBTQ+ tour guides, maybe we get too excited by these sorts of events and this new plaque that now hangs on the facade of Elles Bar. But it’s just one of many recent additions to Paris’s landscape that help keep the LGBTQ+ rooted concretely (forgive the pun) into the landscape. There are so many more to discover, and likely many more to come.