“The right to choose is vital.” In a climate of concern and vigilance, six months after the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution, hundreds of people demonstrated this Saturday in Paris and in several French cities to defend the right to abortion. On the occasion of the international day dedicated to this right which remains hampered or even non-existent in certain countries, the procession set off in the capital, at the call of the collective “Abortion in Europe, women decide”, bringing together feminist associations and unions.
“I had an abortion two years ago”, “I almost died”, Marie Chureau, a 22-year-old student, told AFP. By calling for more subsidies for family planning and, according to her, highlighting the shortage of abortion pills in certain cities. “The inclusion of abortion in the Constitution is not sufficient, it is a freedom but not a right,” she explained in the Parisian demonstration, whose head banner proclaimed: “Abortion is a fundamental right”.
“Hands off the SOUL”
The text of the call to demonstrate expressed concern that the conditions of “guaranteed freedom” of access to abortion enshrined in the Constitution in March could be “reduced”, a first in the world. Thomas Laurent, 44, an entertainment worker wearing a CGT pin, estimated that this registration “will not prevent the abolition of State Medical Aid” which guarantees under conditions certain free care to foreigners in situation irregular. “A reason for concern” because “undocumented women will no longer have access to gynecological care and abortion,” he said.
This fear is reflected in the multiplication of signs saying “Don’t touch the AME” and “the right to health, with or without papers”, in a procession mainly female and young. Bringing together several hundred people, the Toulouse gathering, with its signs “IVG penalized for sacrificed women”, or “my body my choice”, was joined by the environmentalist MP Sandrine Rousseau. “We see that there are plenty of countries in which abortion rights are declining because with the rise of the extreme right, abortion rights are declining,” she declared to the AFP.
This demonstration means “that we are aware of the fact that it is a right which can be called into question at any time and that we will not give up”, she warned, noting the entry into government of Michel Barnier of “rare deputies and senators” who “voted against the constitutionalization of abortion”, citing Annie Genevard and Bruno Retailleau.
“People think” that the right to abortion is “acquired” underlined Patricia Barango, 36 years old, qualified to become an emotional and sexual life educator. But “there are other countries in Europe where they have reversed the right to abortion, notably in Poland, but also in certain states of the United States. So no, it’s not an acquired right.”
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In Lille, where around 150 people demonstrated, the “resignation of parliamentarians who voted against abortion in the constitution” in March was demanded during the speeches. “You don’t want me to abort so castrate yourself”, or “the right to choose is vital”, proclaimed several signs. “We are fighting so that there is less guilt in this act,” explained Léa, 24, a psychology student, while Estelle, 39, pleaded for more resources, “accessible places and more distribution in the mental burden of abortion.”
In Nice, around a hundred people according to the police gathered to express their “solidarity with women around the world”. “We are demonstrating for access to abortion in Europe and around the world but also in France where we are denouncing the obstacles that exist,” explained Clémence Rouland, 35, member of the Women’s Rights collective.
According to official figures, 243,623 abortions were recorded in France in 2023, 8,600 more than in 2022. But for feminist associations and 89% of French people, obstacles persist, particularly in terms of structures and deadlines, according to a Ifop barometer published by Family Planning. The Alliance Vita association, which campaigns against abortion, maintains on the contrary that access has been “simplified, even trivialized”. Prime Minister Michel Barnier assured that “acquired rights”, particularly in matters of abortion, would be “fully preserved”.
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