Metz, Lorraine at heart

Oct. 31 2013
by Gwenaël André / TÊTU

When Maxime and Benjamin talk about their future as a gay couple in Metz, their happiness is almost enviable. The city is not a perfect haven for gays, but in Metz, gays and lesbians form a close-knit, visible community that nothing seems to be able to intimidate. The merit goes to Couleurs gaies, eleven years of existence, two hundred and fifty members, groups constituted by ages and interests, and a place in rue des Tanneurs. One of the most important LGBT associations in France!

When such a strong solidarity organization supports you, life seems lighter. You feel like getting lost with your lover in the pedestrian streets of the old town, kissing under the porches of buildings with magnificent architecture: 17th- and 18th-century, Art Nouveau, even the Romanesque period is present in this city, twice a thousand years old. The romantic stroll goes through the stone quays, rue des Roches, quai Vautrin, Moyen-Pont, along the arms of the Moselle, the superb Temple Neuf in the background. The people of Metz see in the yellow stones of Jaumont, which constitute the majority of the buildings, the sun that they miss under the low sky of the northern Lorraine.

December 12, 2009, kiss-in in front of the cathedral of Metz © Augustin Rebetez

"It's a beautiful flowery and green city with lots of romantic little corners where you can hold hands," say Isabelle and Armelle."You can really stroll around, because everything is beautiful, you turn pages of history by changing neighborhoods," adds Benjamin."As there is almost no one left in the streets after 11 p.m., I sometimes feel a little apprehensive...", Maxime moderates.

Indeed, with only one university, Metz doesn't have the vibrant student nightlife of Nancy, 52 kilometers away. In fact, it's a chance for the city's gay establishments, whose clientele doesn't scatter here and there, like that of the rival city... In Metz, the gay addresses remain. The bar L'Appart and the neighboring club, L'Endroit, had their glory days in the 80s and 90s, but remain solid pillars of gay life. L'Atmosphère offers a daytime drink downtown, and the girls have L'Insolite, a stone's throw away. To find a real lesbian bar, they go to Montigny, to the Second Bar.

For three years, almost everyone meets at the GD'O,on weekends. An incredible phenomenon, this gay-night bar was created by two friends, Max Thiel and Jess Marq, both 30 years old. Their recipe?"Everyone is nice to everyone, and we don't run a drink factory!" More than a hundred and fifty people come every Sunday night for a drag show full of derision. With 280m2, a long bar, a dance floor, benches, DJ RLS on Fridays and Saturdays, the gay clientele comes from all over Lorraine. And Metz is becoming more and more popular with gays from the east of France.