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Marchers for LGBT rights in Poland's capital last year (Credit: Czarek Sokolowski/AP)
A Polish town's stance as "free of LGBT ideology" has prompted a backlash from its twin town in France, which has now suspended official ties after 25 years.
Saint-Jean-de-Braye stated in a declaration that it had suspended relations because of the intolerant stance.
"France is committed to combating human rights violations based on sexual orientation," it said.
"We cannot accept that the ties that unite our two cities by a twinning oath be tainted. We condemn the position taken by our twin city of Tuchow."
Mayor of Tuchow, Magdalena Marszalek, was upset by the declaration from Saint-Jean-de-Braye and said that the LGBT views adopted by Polish councilors did not represent everyone.
She blamed the call to suspend relations on local election campaigning in the French town.
The controversial LGBT statement was adopted by local councilors of Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice party last year.
Saint-Jean-de-Braye's deputy mayor, Colette Martin-Chabbert, told France3: "Even if we knew that the government party was relaying homophobia we were shocked to discover that the city of Tuchow had voted for the resolution, like a large number of municipalities in the south east of Poland."
Poland's ruling party and other conservative groups claim they are supporting traditional family values.
Tuchow joined other Polish towns in backing the anti-gay position at the same time as some politicians in the capital Warsaw championed its openness. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, an opposition politician, said the city was supportive of the LGBT community and its rights.
Source(s): AP
