Paris mayor
condemns "censorship" of gay ads

Gay Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe on Wednesday condemned a decision by the city's metro and bus operator not to allow advertising posters that show a gay couple kissing, Agence France-Presse reports. "The images, which simply depict a kiss between two members of the same sex, in no way justify this act of censorship," the mayor said in a statement.

Metrobus, the advertising subsidiary of state-owned RATP, refused to show posters for the gay trade show Rainbow Attitude Expo on the grounds that they "risk shocking the public." The posters that have gone on display instead show softer images of male and female couples cuddling.