persecution becomes increasingly

severe.

In 1945 there were 22 convictions; in 1946, 85; in 1947, 133; in 1948, 193. Thereafter the figure is over 200 each year, attaining in 1954 the figure of 312. We shall further see that the severity of sentences has increased also.

For the years 1945 to 1954, sentences of one year or less constituted 81%; more than one year, only 7.2%; cases disposed of by fine only, 5.7%; and acquittals, 6%. A little less than 30% of all convictions were given suspended sentences. If we exclude second offenders, who are automatically denied a suspended sentence, the percentage is 33%. Second or repeated offenders constitute 12% of all convictions.

This matter of second offenders is extremely serious because:

1. The Penal Code (Articles 57 and 58) provides that a second offender may receive a sentence of up to double that fixed by law for a first offense.

2. A second offender is anyone who has a record of any previous conviction which need not necessarily (and usually does not) have any connection with homosexuality.

By resorting to the technicality afforded in this second provision a judge is often able to double the maximum sentence of three years in prison as fixed by the lawmakers for a homosexual offense. Thus from 1953 to 1955, years during which the percentage of repeated offenders rose from 12% to 15%, we find one case of a sentence of five years or more and five cases of three years or more.

From 1953 on we have at our disposal machine record statistics which permit a more detailed analysis than do those for previous years. These show the following for 1953, 1954, 1955:

More than one year: 18% (instead of 7.2% for 1945-1954).

At least one year: 72% (instead of

81%).

Fines: 9% (instead of 5.7%).

Thus the net increase in the severity of sentences is clearly seen. It is further illustrated by a recent affair in Coutances in which the accused (not a second offender) was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, plus a fine of 100,000 francs; the sentence was sustained by the Court of Appeals at Rennes.

Further evaluation of the sentences reveals for 1952-1955: more than three months but less than one year, 42%; three months or less, 30%.

On the other hand, the percentage of suspended sentences has risen to 41% (in comparison with 30% during 1945-1954) which compensates, to a degree, for the increased severity of the courts.

not

In the armed forces and especially in our "clerical" navy (and once again I emphasize "clerical" and "Christian") homosexuality is relentlessly ferreted out by means of informers and even well-paid provocateurs: considered a grave offense against morals it is punished, after a veritable secret inquisition on the part of the security services which becomes every day more zealous and more invasive of personal liberties, and after all kinds of unspeakable humiliations, by a sentence of 30 to 60 days in prison. In the case of a second offense, enlisted men "whose bad conduct constitutes a threat to discipline and a danger to the morale of their units" are sent to frightful special sections, but only if they have not already completed their compulsory term of service. If, on the other hand, they are on active duty but have completed their eighteen months of compulsory service, their term of enlistment is simply canceled and, in their service record the line "certificate of good morality" is blotted out with a red line-even in cases in which the individual may already have been awarded a certificate of

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