Two gay men who were burned alive in 1750 in Paris as punishment for the “crime” of homosexuality were honored over the weekend with the unveiling of a plaque marking the spot on the city’s popular Rue Montorgueil market street where the couple was arrested. After a sham trial in which prosecutors said they wished to make a public example of the pair, Jean Diot, a 40-year-old domestic employee, and Bruno Lenoir, a 20-year-old shoemaker, were burned at the stake at the Place de Greve, now the Place de l’Hotel de Ville–the site of Paris’s City Hall. Their executions marked the last time gay men or lesbians were sentenced to death in France due to their sexual orientation. Continue Reading →