Thousands march in France to demand action on violence against women

PARIS: Thousands of protesters across France braved the cold on Saturday to express their anger over the persistence of violence against women and demand more public action and funds to combat the scourge.

In Paris, crowds of demonstrators -- 50,000 according to organizers, 17,000 according to the police -- waved signs, chanted, danced and sang as they moved through the capital in the protests organized by the Greve feministe (Feminist Strike) collective of some 60 organizations.

“A man kills a woman every 2.5 days in France,” read one placard distributed by the feminist collective NousToutes (All of us Women).

“Nine out of 10 victims know their rapist,” read another.

‘Loved without being abused’ 

“It's 2025, is it still normal to count our dead women?” said Sylvaine Grevin, president of the national femicide victims' federation, whose sister was killed in 2017, ahead of the start of the Paris demonstration.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered in the cold in other cities, creating crowds awash in purple -- a color linked to feminism.

“We have the right to be loved without being abused,” said 20-year-old student Juliette in Lille in northern France.

Intimate partner femicides

The associations behind the protests are calling for the adoption of a comprehensive framework law against violence, along with a three-billion-euro budget ($3.5-billion) to implement it.

They are also calling for improved education and funding for groups that support victims of violence.

According to official figures published Thursday by MIPROF, a government organization tasked with protecting women from violence and fighting human trafficking, the number of intimate partner femicides rose by 11% between 2023 and 2024, with 107 women killed by their partner or ex-partner.

‘Every two minutes’ 

A woman is a victim of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault every two minutes, and every 23 seconds of sexual harassment, indecent exposure, or the unsolicited sending of sexual content, according to MIPROF.

The Women's Foundation rights group estimates the minimum annual budget the government should allocate to protecting victims of domestic, gender-based and sexual violence in France is 2.6 billion euros -- equivalent to 0.5% of the state budget.