France femicide crisis: Thousands protest, demand €3 billion anti-violence budget
Thousands of protesters across France marched on Saturday evening to express their fury at the persistence of violence against women and demanded greater public action and funding to combat the scourge, France 24 reports.
In Paris, the massive crowd—estimated at 50,000 by organizers and 17,000 by police—waved placards, chanted, danced, and sang as they crossed the capital in demonstrations organized by the Feminist Strike collective, which comprises around 60 organizations.
Slogans on the posters included: "A man kills a woman every 2.5 days in France."
Another message displayed on the placards read: "Nine out of 10 victims know their rapist."
"It's 2025, is it still normal for us to be counting our dead women?" asked Sylvaine Grevin, president of the National Federation of Femicide Victims, whose sister was killed in 2017, before the start of the Paris demonstration.
Hundreds of protesters also gathered in the cold in other cities, forming crowds dressed in purple—a color associated with feminism.
"We have the right to be loved without being abused," said Juliette, a 20-year-old student from Lille, northern France.
The associations behind the protests called for the adoption of a comprehensive framework law against violence, along with a three-billion-euro budget for its implementation. The women also demand improved education and funding for groups that support victims of violence.
According to official figures from MIPROF, a government organization designated to protect women from violence and combat human trafficking, the number of femicides within couples increased by 11% between 2023 and 2024, with 107 women killed by their partners or former partners.
A woman becomes a victim of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault every two minutes, and of sexual harassment, indecent exposure, or unsolicited sending of sexual content every 23 seconds, according to MIPROF.
The rights group Women's Foundation estimates that the minimum annual budget the government should allocate for the protection of victims of domestic, gender-based, and sexual violence in France is 2.6 billion euros—equivalent to 0.5% of the state budget.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
