FRANCE: Paris Court Rules It’s OK To Call Hairdressers “Faggots” Because Many Hairdressers Are Gay

From the BBC:

A Paris tribunal has ruled that calling a male hairdresser a “faggot” is not homophobic – “because hair salons regularly employ gay people”. The case relates to an employee at a salon who was fired after failing to turn up for work while sick.

His boss accidentally sent him a text using the slur, so the hairdresser took him to an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal. But the court ruled there was no homophobic motive behind the sacking.

The text from the salon boss read: “I am not going to keep [the employee]. I don’t have a good feeling about this guy. He’s a dirty faggot.” He used the French term “PD” which translates as the term “faggot”.

In the reasoning, the tribunal said: “If we put it in the context of the field of hairdressing, the council considers that the term ‘faggot’ used by a manager cannot be considered as a homophobic insult, because hair salons regularly employ gay people, notably in female hairdressers, and that poses no problem at all.”

More from The Local:

The ruling was tweeted out this week and quickly prompted anger on social media in France. “You are a hairdresser, you get called a faggot and that’s OK because hairdressers are often gay right. Thanks to the tribunal,” tweeted Mathieu Brancourt, a journalist who revealed the ruling.

Another tweeted: “So basically it’s OK to be homophobic if you work in an area with lots of homosexuals. Fantastic guys”.  French Labour Minister Myrian El Khomri spoke out against the ruling on Friday morning calling it “outrageous ” and “shocking”.

France’s rights watchdog Le Défenseur des Droits, has become involved in the case and has confirmed the victim will appeal the ruling.

(Tipped by JMG reader Allen)