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In Poland, the climate is not favorable for LGBT people. Here, during a "Pride March" in June 2018, in Warsaw. JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP

A "Rainbow Friday" operation was conducted on October 25 in a few hundred schools in Poland to promote tolerance of LGBT youth.

With our correspondent in Warsaw, Thomas Giraudeau

At Bednarska High School, rainbow flags adorn the clothes and courses offer the opportunity to talk about the LGBT issue. Like a few hundred other schools in Poland, this high school in the center of Warsaw is taking part in Operation Rainbow Friday to promote tolerance for LGBT people. According to Polish researchers, 70% of LGBT youth have suicidal thoughts.

Maks Szweyeski is 18 years old. He is homosexual and feels safe at Bednarska High School. " In my old high school, I was already talking openly about my sexual orientation. But all my comrades pointed to me. Once, I even had to hide in a friend's house, because high school students chased me into the street, "he says.

The director of her former high school refused to organize this "Rainbow Friday" because of her religious beliefs. The event is optional, subject to parental consent. " It's a taboo subject. Today, I asked the question at my other school. A lot of teachers have been upset by this idea. If the teachers behave this way, I do not know how the children will learn a different behavior , "worries Elwira Bazylinska, French teacher.

Targeted by the ruling Law and Justice party before the recent legislative elections, LGBT people are also in the sights of the Catholic Church, which denounces an ideology that would prevail in Poland.

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But the deputy head of the Bednarska high school, Bartlomiej Pielak, claims the organization of the "rainbow Friday", even if it is to challenge the political authorities, who are also opposed to this day. " Our school is a friendly place. If the Ministry of Education wants to come check what's going on here, it's really welcome. And we will do our best to talk, debate, explain our approach. Because we are proud of what we organize, we do not do anything wrong. "

Rather than participate in "Rainbow Friday", the Ministry of Education has invited schools to commemorate Polish veterans and heroes on the same day.