Tucked away off the Rue des Francs Bourgeois in central Paris is a small public park named l’hôtel-Lamoignon - Mark-Ashton.

Mark Ashton was a former general secretary of the Young Communist League, and a founding member of Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners. The story of the group was recounted in the film ‘Pride’ in 2014.

ashton garden trees

An informational panel at the entrance notes that the park was renamed in 2018, and the biographical blurb on Ashton and LGSM explains:

This movement helped progress LGBT questions, while inciting trade unions to support the cause of equal rights.

There is a patch of grass in the centre, surrounded by benches, and the windows of the historical library of Paris look out onto the western edge.

ashton garden benches

There’s also a flower bed. ⚘

flowers

It was a cold day and the garden was empty when I visited, just a few pidgeons hopping around on the path.