“We no longer want to count the dead”, say demonstrators all over France

Several thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in Paris and several large cities on the occasion of the International Day Against Violence Against Women.

“We no longer want to count the dead.” Thousands of people, many of whom wore a touch of purple, the color of feminism, demonstrated on Saturday November 25 in Paris and in major cities against violence against women, demanding additional resources from the government. For this International Day to Combat Violence Against Women, feminist associations and unions have called for demonstrations throughout France for better protection of women victims of violence.

There “persistence of violence against women is not inevitable”, “we have to put an end to it and we are going to do it”, declared the President of the Republic in a video posted on social networks Saturday morning. He listed the actions already put in place (expanding 3919 hours, setting up a digital support platform, facilitating the filing of complaints, increasing the number of dedicated investigators, deployment of “serious danger phones” and of “immediate danger bracelets”creation of emergency accommodation places) and welcomed the efforts “which bore fruit”.

“Reforms at the margins are not enough”

But for feminist associations, unions and left-wing figures, we are far from the mark. “Reforms at the margins are not enough”, declared Saturday during a press briefing Maëlle Lenoir, from the national coordination of NousToutes. The collective estimates “more than 2 billion euros” the amount required to effectively combat violence against women.

Marches took place in several cities in France: several hundred people in Lyon, Strasbourg and Toulouse, around 200 in Lille… On the signs: “Protect your daughters, educate your sons” In Lyon, “Give in is not consent” has Lille, “We are not born a woman but we die” in Strasbourg. In 2022, 118 femicides were recorded, a figure that is almost stable compared to 2021, according to official figures. Over the first 11 months of 2023, feminist associations have already recorded 121 feminicides.