About LGBTQ+ Paris
France decriminalized homosexuality during the French Revolution (1791). The equal age of consent was established in 1982. The Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS), a civil-union framework available to same-sex and different-sex couples, passed in 1999. Same-sex marriage was legalized in May 2013 under the Taubira Law.
Le Marais, in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements on the Right Bank, has been Paris's main gay neighborhood since the early 1980s. The highest concentration of gay-oriented bars and businesses is on Rue des Archives and Rue Vieille du Temple between Rue de Rivoli and Rue de Bretagne.
The 11th arrondissement, particularly around Oberkampf, hosts a younger queer nightlife scene with several lesbian and trans-led venues. Pigalle, in the 9th and 18th arrondissements, holds a cabaret history that includes long-running queer-adjacent venues such as Madame Arthur.
Les Mots à la Bouche, an LGBTQ+ bookshop founded in 1980, is one of the longest-running queer bookstores in continental Europe. It relocated from the Marais to the 11th arrondissement in 2020. The Centre LGBTQI+ Paris-Île-de-France is the community center for the wider Paris region and is located on Rue Beaubourg.
Marche des Fiertés, the Paris Pride parade, takes place in late June. The route varies year to year but typically runs from a Right Bank starting point to Place de la République or thereabouts. Lesbian Pride (Marche des Lesbiennes Visibles) and Trans Pride run as separate events earlier in June.
Chéries-Chéris, the Paris LGBTQ+ film festival, runs in November and was founded in 1994. It is one of France's main queer film festivals.
The Paris Métro runs until approximately 1:15am on weekdays and 2:15am on Fridays, Saturdays, and the eves of public holidays. The Noctilien night bus network covers the gap. French is the working language across most of the city; English is more widely spoken in central tourist neighborhoods than in residential arrondissements.