One of the things I wanted to learn about, is how the french view certain topics compared to us. One of the big things was PRIDE, since I was going to be missing mine as I was in an entirely different country. It was a couple days before I heard that there was going to be a PRIDE fest, and a PRIDE parade. Not gonna lie, was tottaly ready to skip program planned things to go to this.
We went in the morning, and man the metro was crammed with people heading to the festival place. So many people were dressed in rainbows, drag, glitter, bdsm stuff, it was a sight to behold for sure. And when we got there it was amazing. There were stands to buy your choice of flag, glitter, face paint, food, drinks, etc. There were 'free hugs' people everywhere, and it was all around a great enviornment.
But when the stage got turned on and people began performing, the place got even more packed and the groups excitment rose 10 fold.
After a while, people began setting up for the parade. There were so many floats! They had drag dancers, Queen impersonators, people throwing beads, music everywhere! And it was so crowded. My group ended up having to hold hands and make a line with each other so we couldnt get seperated or lost, even though it ended up happening anyway. All in all, it was a great Pride, and I was sooo happy to experience it there. I learned how much people are willing to be themselves, and how happy they are to be able to express it. When we were leaving, I expected to hear at least one snide comment about the event or people attending, but I didn't hear one. The French really are great at accepting people for who they are.