Officials in French town have ordered removal of 'lesbian' ads with woman almost kissing herself

Officials in a Paris suburb have ordered the removal of advertisements which appear to show two women about to kiss. The advert, which is for the high-end French jeweller Chaumet, is based on the famous Greek myth of Narcissus and features actress Marine Vacth who is depicted on the verge of a kiss with herself.

But for parents in Pecq, a town of around 17,000 residents in the Yvelines department of Ile-de-France, the advert was simply too shocking. Responding to pressure from locals, the town council have ordered the posters to be taken down from local bus stops. Mayor Laurence Bernard said she had received “many calls from parents” about the advertising campaign.



“They told us that it bothered them that their children were subjected to this image, that it shocked and annoyed them to respond to their children’s comments on the subject.” Meanwhile, gay rights group SOS Homophobia described the council’s actions as “An unacceptable practice of censorship which shows and reinforces the organization into hierarchy of couples based on their sexual orientation. The concealment of the posters highlights a homophobia that dares not speak its name.”

In response to the outrage, Bernard said: “I understand their anger and I’m sorry. I am appalled and sorry for the controversy that this raises. I wanted to make things more calm. I thought that by removing them, I made a step towards these residents and that I could get them to accept the evolution of society without rushing them. I think that those who asked for it to be taken down didn’t even realize that it was an interpretation of the myth of Narcissus.”