Paris France |
44, rue René Boulanger | Cleews Vellay Promenade |
since 30 November 2019 one name |
Cleews Vellay (1964-1994), an activist in the fight against HIV-AIDS who became Presidentrice of Act Up-Paris, died of AIDS in 1994. In order not to forget his essential struggles, the City of Paris and the 10th arrondissement's City Hall wanted to pay tribute by naming a promenade after him and unveiling a memorial plaque on the building that housed the association's offices at the time, on 44, rue René Boulanger.
Born in Gonesse, Cleews Vellay came from a working class background. Because he is homosexual, he is thrown out of his home by his father when he is a teenager, and he has to do a series of odd jobs.
At the end of the 1980's, he discovered he was HIV positive. In the summer of 1989, he joined Act Up-Paris, an association just created by Didier Lestrade, Luc Coulavain and Pascal Loubet. Cleews Vellay became responsible for the public action group. In the fall of 1992, he was elected ‘presidentrice’ of the association. Besides widening the fight beyond only homosexual men, he is at the origin of several of the most famous coups such as the installation of a giant condom on the obelisk on Place de la Concorde in 1993.
Because the City of Paris intends to fight against all forms of LGBT-phobic discrimination, the capital is committed to supporting and enhancing the life and memory of associations and activists of the Parisian LGBTQI+ community. The Cleews Vellay promenade is located on the median strip between rue René Boulanger and boulevard Saint-Martin, near the place de la République.
Marie du Dix
Born in Gonesse, Cleews Vellay came from a working class background. Because he is homosexual, he is thrown out of his home by his father when he is a teenager, and he has to do a series of odd jobs.
At the end of the 1980's, he discovered he was HIV positive. In the summer of 1989, he joined Act Up-Paris, an association just created by Didier Lestrade, Luc Coulavain and Pascal Loubet. Cleews Vellay became responsible for the public action group. In the fall of 1992, he was elected ‘presidentrice’ of the association. Besides widening the fight beyond only homosexual men, he is at the origin of several of the most famous coups such as the installation of a giant condom on the obelisk on Place de la Concorde in 1993.
Because the City of Paris intends to fight against all forms of LGBT-phobic discrimination, the capital is committed to supporting and enhancing the life and memory of associations and activists of the Parisian LGBTQI+ community. The Cleews Vellay promenade is located on the median strip between rue René Boulanger and boulevard Saint-Martin, near the place de la République.
Marie du Dix