French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Friday his desire to include the “freedom to resort” to abortion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, where according to him “nothing can be taken for granted and everything must be defended “.
“We will lead this fight on our continent, where reactionary forces first and always attack the rights of women before then attacking the rights of minorities, of all the oppressed, of all freedoms,” declared the Head of State during a public ceremony in Paris marking the inclusion of voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) in the French Constitution.
This event, organized on March 8, International Women’s Rights Day, makes France the first country to include abortion in its fundamental law.
During this ceremony, attended by many feminist figures, the seal of the Republic was formally affixed to the law enshrining abortion in the Constitution, after the historic vote of Parliament meeting in Congress on Monday.
“Fight for freedom”
“The seal of the Republic seals on this day a long fight for freedom,” launched Emmanuel Macron, after the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti had affixed the heavy metal press, more than 200 years old, to the law.
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, proclaimed in December 2000, contains 54 articles enshrining the individual rights of people within the European Union.
It has the same legal value as that of the treaties and any citizen can rely on it in the event of non-respect of these rights by a European text.
“Beyond Europe, we will fight for this right to become universal and effective,” Mr. Macron said.
Among the several hundred spectators present at Place Vendôme in Paris, in front of the Ministry of Justice, Cosme Laurizon and Eva Juif, law students, were delighted to “live this moment live”. “It’s historic,” the 19-year-old woman told AFP.
Many curious people and foreign tourists were taking photos.
On the platform were invited personalities such as the actress Catherine Deneuve and Claudine Monteil, both signatories of the “Manifesto of the 343”, a shock appeal in 1971 in which 343 women revealed that they had had an abortion and which called for the legalization of abortion.
Mr. Macron wanted “a popular ceremony” to mark “the culmination of this collective fight”. He also brought flowers to the graves of “great figures” of feminism who contributed to the revision of the Constitution, including the lawyer Gisèle Halimi and the politician Simone Veil.
For feminist associations, March 8 remains first and foremost “the opportunity to take to the streets” to defend the rights of “poorly paid essential employees”, “first on duty” and “women victims of violence”, says Anne Leclerc, member of the National Collective for Women’s Rights.
The demonstrators denounce in particular wage inequalities. For the same working hours, the average salary of women remains 14.9% lower because they work in “less paid” sectors and positions.
Tensions in Paris
In Paris, several thousand people, the majority of them women, marched in the early afternoon, during a generally festive gathering, but punctuated by strong tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“I come every year, this year it was important for me to come to denounce sexual and gender-based violence,” Elfie, 34, a doctor in history, told AFP.
In the procession were activists from the We Will Live association, created after the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 to denounce the sexual violence committed by the commandos of the Islamist organization, AFP journalists noted.
Their slogans of “Free the hostages” were responded to by those of “Palestine will win” launched by other demonstrators. Invectives were exchanged between the two groups, but without intervention from the police.