(AFP, Paris) Dozens of women's rights organizations in France launched demonstrations on Saturday in Paris and the northern city of Lille, protesting the ongoing violence against women and demanding that the government crack down on this social scourge.
In Paris, a coalition of about 60 groups called for a "women's rights strike" to demonstrate. Organizers claimed 50,000 participants, but police said the number was over 17,000.
The women's rights group "NousToutes" distributed signs that read, "In France, a woman dies at the hands of a man every 2.5 days," and "Nine out of ten victims knew their abusers."
Cases of intimate partners murdering women have surged by 11%. Grévin, president of the National Federation of Women Murder Victims, whose sister was murdered in 2017, said before the Paris march, "It's 2025 now, is it still normal to count the number of women who have died?"
Hundreds also gathered in other cities despite the cold. In Lille, 20-year-old student Juliette said, "We have the right to be loved and not abused."
Further Reading
According to data released by the government agency responsible for protecting women from violence and combating human trafficking, cases of intimate partners murdering women surged by 11% between 2023 and 2024, with 107 women killed by their partners or ex-partners.
It states that every two minutes a woman is a victim of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault, and every 23 seconds an incident of sexual harassment, indecent exposure, or unauthorized transmission of pornography occurs.
