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In response to anti-government protests after police murdered a seventeen-year-old boy of Algerian descent, the French government has taken a number of repressive anti-democratic actions. Several hundred protesters were tried, convicted, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms within just forty-eight hours. One teenager with no prior record was sent to prison for a year and a month for allegedly throwing an empty soda can at a group of police.

San Francisco's is one of the biggest Pride parades in the world, but as it has grown larger so have criticisms that it has become too corporate. While this year was an opportunity to push back against a wave of homophobia and anti-trans hate across the US, as usual corporate floats abounded at the main event along Market Street. The real spirit of resistance was in the smaller People's March held at the same time in the Tenderloin district.

In a pseudonymous communiqué published on Indybay on May 21, "some vandals" write: Under the cover of night, with the Frisco fog as our accomplice, a crew of friends vandalized over 10 of the right-wing, pro-police “Fentalyfe” street poster installations.... These disturbing posters are part of a $300k campaign, by reactionary group Together SF, that is shaming drug and Narcan users, and calling for the racist criminalization of poor people.

On May 8, the Catholic Diocese of Oakland announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of California, as a direct result of facing over 330 child sexual abuse lawsuits. Similarly, the Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for bankruptcy protection two months ago. SNAP writes: Everything about this bankruptcy strikes us as wrong. It is all about keeping money and secrets.

Though technically legal, over seventy percent of the French people feel that the way President Macron pushed through legislation raising the retirement age was a violation of their democratic rights. He relied on Article 49.3, which allows legislation to pass without voting. Even though the Constitutional Assembly claimed the increase was legitimate, working people continue to reject the "reform." Huge demonstrations have wracked the country.

A Trump-appointed federal judge ordered the FDA to withdraw its decades-old approval of mifepristone nationwide on April 7. Mifepristone is used in more than 50% of abortions. On April 21, the Supreme Court issued a stay against any mifepristone bans or restrictions, sending the issue back to the Fifth Circuit. While this is seen as at least a temporary victory, defenders of reproductive justice rights say that the fight is far from over.

So far in 2023, lawmakers in 46 states have introduced more than 650 anti-LGBTQ bills. Citing these vicious attacks on trans people, drag artists, and the entire LGBTQ+ community, demonstrators said that they are standing up for not only themselves but for others who cannot do so. More than 1,000 rallied and marched starting at San Francisco's Union Square on April 8 in a show of solidarity that had the atmosphere of a colorful festival.

The year 2023 could have been a moment to celebrate the half century of reproductive choice afforded by Roe v Wade. Instead, post-Roe, women are resisting further attacks. On January 21, San Francisco turned out to counter-protest the annual so-called "Walk for Life," when thousands are bussed in to demand a total end to reproductive freedom. On January 22, dozens of Women's Marches were held in cities throughout the country.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Tony Coleman led campaigns to get a killer SFPD cop fired and to resist Prop 21. Tony later made his mark in West Oakland supporting arts and community. Tony was a key organizer in the Justice for Oscar Grant Movement and founded One Fam and Bikes 4 Life. Tony passed away on September 23 after battling cancer. Hear him in his own words in video and audio in a collection of posts on Indybay.

An abortion rights protester was removed from a Golden State Warriors championship game for attempting to display a banner that read, "Overturn Roe? Hell No." Kareim McKnight was strapped to a gurney and handcuffed, then injected with a drug called Versed by an EMT with the SFFD. In response, she has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco for violating her Fourth Amendment right to control her own body.