New French president may signal ‘no miracle’, trans candidate says
Brigitte Goldberg, one of two trans candidates in the recent French Presidential election, yesterday expressed herself only slightly moved by the replacement of right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy with socialist Francois Hollande.
Describing this as a rejection of the politics of the former rather than a positive vote for Hollande, she said: “There is an LGBT vote which is justifiably ranged against the highly reactionary values of the UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) candidate.”
In an interview with the French online magazine, Yagg, she regretted the fact that trans issues had been mostly ignored during the campaign. This she blamed on a lack of representation and a lack of co-ordination between groups which prevented any cohesion or common agenda.
Nonetheless, Ms Goldberg remained positive, telling Yagg: “Any and all progress in the direction of greater rights is of benefit to the trans community. The election of Francois Hollande is one of those things that is as important for LGBT rights as for the wider economy. But there will be no miracle. It is clear that these issues – not even marriage – are not a priority”.
In previous campaigning, Ms Goldberg put herself forward as not “representative of the whole LGBT community, but as faithful to it values”.
In addition to campaigning on trans rights, she and her party have argued for greater public awareness of wider LGBT issues, as well as a higher profile for teaching about them in French schools.
