From Marseille to Paris, they demand a “scare” and one “comprehensive framework law” : More than four hundred organizations and personalities call to demonstrate, on Saturday, November 23, against violence (sexual, physical, psychological, economic, etc.) against women. Mobilizations that arise after the commotion caused by the extraordinary rape trial in Mazan, where around fifty men are accused of having raped Gisèle Pelicot while she was unconscious, drugged without her knowledge from her husband.
In Marseille, at noon, around eight hundred people, according to the police headquarters, including many young people, gathered in the Old Port to denounce sexist and sexist violence. “Let’s break the law of silence, shame changes sides”, “No means no” or “Educate your children”we could read on the signs brandished by the protesters or placed on the ground.
Demonstrations are planned in dozens of cities, including Paris, Bordeaux and Lille, two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
“The culprit is not me, nor my clothes, nor the place”
Wearing a purple hat knitted for the occasion by her mother, Beatriz Beloqui arrived at the Gare du Nord in Paris, accompanied by a dozen activists from the Nord-Essonne Feminist Collective to make her voice heard. “alert cry” about violence against women. “We get up, we leave and we burn everything”, “I blame the man, screw the artist”, “So that shame changes sides #jesuisGisèle”They show it on handmade posters.
Those who have attended the #NousToutes marches every year since 2019 – always with the same optimism – hope that Mazan’s rape trial will open the eyes of public authorities and “bring men out of silence”. “I hope that the sentence is appropriate and that it is accompanied by true political awareness”she says.
Before the departure of the Parisian procession, the crowd, already fed, leaves in silence. In the center an event by the collective Le bruit quicourt is announced, which begins a choreography to applause. “The culprit is not me, nor my clothes, nor the place.”the dancers sing. “You are the culprit, it is the police, it is the State, society, the entire patriarchy. »
“Scare the masculinists”
Natacha, 26, went to the demonstration alone, but ” with [sa] anger and [sa] rage “. The Mazan trial, in recent weeks, has “his anger increased tenfold” on the treatment of victims of sexual violence. This high school teacher, who tries to instill the notion of consent in her students from beginning to end “simple, everyday actions” came for “Let’s show that we are here, that we will always be here and that we are not going to give up”.
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“Scare the masculinists”This is mainly the reason why Françoise Guichard joined the demonstration. “The dams have failed”throw the one that says “terrified” due to the increase in masculinist comments, particularly from the United States since the election of Donald Trump. At 70 years old, “I’m afraid for the future.”confesses who remembers the echo that the Aix en Provence rape trial had in 1978 and hopes that the Mazan rape trial will allow for further progress. “What else do they need to react? »
Four hundred organizations
This essay with international resonance “It shows that rape culture is ingrained in society, as is violence against women”explained Amandine Cormier of Grève Feminista during a press conference on Wednesday in Paris. “Patriarchal violence occurs everywhere, in homes, in workplaces, in places of study, on the street, in transportation, in health facilities…”
The call for mobilization was signed by more than four hundred organizations (Women’s Foundation, Family Planning, #NousToutes, etc.) and personalities (Angèle, Judith Godrèche, Vanessa Springora, etc.). Employee union organizations, such as the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), whose general secretaries, Sophie Binet and Marylise Léon, are expected in Paris, will be in the processions.
“Successive governments have made many promises, but the means are scarce and increasingly smaller, political action is almost non-existent”they deplore the signatories. In November 2017, Emmanuel Macron made equality between women and men a “great cause of the five-year period”with for “first pillar” the fight “for the total elimination of violence against women”.
The associations request an annual budget of 2.6 billion euros
An emergency telephone number, 39-19, has been set up for women victims of violence and those around them, as well as the Serious Danger Telephone and anti-reconciliation bracelets. Measures welcomed by associations that defend women’s rights, who consider them insufficient and urge the Head of State to change course.
Recalling the support of the President of the Republic for Gérard Depardieu and the approval in the Senate of a bill against gender transitions among minors, Yéléna Mandengué, member of #NousToutes, called on Saturday for a “scare” : “We are all affected by gender violence.”. »
“Today we are very concerned about the financing of associations, we are closing offices”lamented Sarah Durocher, president of Planned Parenthood, at the same press conference.
The associations demand a total budget of 2.6 billion euros per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace the current legislation that they consider “fragmented and incomplete”. The Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men, Salima Saa, promised “concrete and effective measures” for November 25.
These measures will aim, among other things, “improve reference systems” victims, especially in rural areas, to strengthen “welcome and care for victims” for one “training of frontline actors”he clarified.
