Exclusive | Meet the woman in France leading the charge against Lancome in Hong Kong
Beatrice Desgranges, who has not been to Hong Kong since 1995, said she must ‘stand up for freedom wherever freedom is violated’
When Lancome cancelled Canto-pop star Denise Ho Wan-sze’s concert in Hong Kong, it seemed unlikely that a retired philosophy teacher in Paris would be leading the calls for the cosmetics giant to reconsider its decision.
But there she is. Beatrice Desgranges started a petition on change.org on Monday after learning about the incident from a tweet from a French expatriate in Hong Kong. By 3pm on Friday, Desgranges’ petition had been signed by more than 50,000 people. A separate petition endorsed by 17 Hong Kong political parties and activist groups was supported by more than 4,300 on Facebook and signed by about 450.
In an exclusive interview conducted via email, Desgranges, 65, said she “didn’t know much about Hong Kong”.
“I only spent one day and one night there [in 1995], but it is not the problem for me. I think my duty is to stand up for freedom wherever freedom is violated,” she wrote.
Desgranges studied philosophy in Paris in the 1970s and taught it in a school in Eastern France before retiring. She now mostly lives in Paris.