One of them, “Dare to feminism”, calls for an “institutional revolution”, in particular so that “justice is finally rendered to the 94,000 victims of rape and victims of sexual assault each year in France”. In Lyon, more than 300 people gathered in front of the courthouse, some of them dressed as “Rosie the Riveter”, overalls and a red scarf with white dots tied on their heads, which has become a symbol of women’s emancipation.
In Paris, around a hundred people gathered in front of the judicial court, with signs and slogans calling for “Let shame change sides” or asking “What is justice doing?” “. “Stop the denial”, insisted another sign, when another message blurted out: “0.6% of rapes convicted, you can do better”.
“Tilt the law”
In Marseille, where around thirty people gathered, several demonstrators held a sign bearing the image of Gisèle Pelicot, chanting “stop the dismissal” and “conviction for the rapists”.
For Valentine Caffè, 50, the Gisèle Pelicot affair is “almost a textbook case” which can “turn the law upside down”, hoping that France takes an example from Spain for example, whose law “Sólo sí es sí” (Editor’s note: “Only yes means yes”) means that it is up to the attacker to prove that there is consent.
In front of the Toulouse Courthouse, there were around a hundred demonstrators at the start of the afternoon in front of a large banner reading “Rapist outside hospital”. The Haut-Garonne mobilization indeed had a particular connotation, while a medical student sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assault is due to return to the Toulouse medical internship in November.
France
