dozens of demonstrations take place in France, in the middle of the Mazan rape trial

From Marseille to Paris, they are demanding a “startle” and one “comprehensive framework law” : more than four hundred organizations and personalities are calling to demonstrate, Saturday, November 23, against violence (sexual, physical, psychological, economic, etc.) against women. Mobilizations which arise after the shock wave 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 by her husband.

In Marseille, at midday, around eight hundred people, according to the police headquarters, including many young people, gathered in the Old Port to denounce sexist and sexual violence. “Let’s break the law of silence, shame changes sides”, “No means no” or “Educate your sons”could we read on signs brandished by the demonstrators 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, with around ten activists from the Nord-Essonne Feminist Collective to make their voices heard. “alert cry” on violence against women. “We get up, we leave and we burn everything”, “I blame the man, fuck the artist”, “So that shame changes sides #jesuisGisèle”they display on handmade signs.

The one who comes to the #NousToutes marches every year since 2019 – always with the same optimism – hopes that the Mazan rape trial will open the eyes of public authorities and “bring men out of the silence”. “I hope that the conviction will be appropriate, and that it will be accompanied by real political awareness”she says.

Before the departure of the Parisian procession, the crowd, already fed, moves away in silence. In the center, a happening by the collective Le bruit qui court is announced, which begins a choreography to applause. “The culprit is not me, nor my clothes, nor the place”chant the dancers. “The culprit is you, it’s the police, it’s the State, society, the entire patriarchy. »

“Scare the masculinists”

Natacha, 26, came alone to the demonstration, but ” with [sa] anger and [sa] rage ». The Mazan rape trial in recent weeks has “increased his anger tenfold” regarding the treatment of victims of sexual violence. This college professor, who tries to instill the notion of consent in her students by “simple, everyday actions”came for “show that we are here, that we will always be here, and that we are not going to give up”.

“Scare the masculinists”this is primarily why Françoise Guichard joined the demonstration. “The dikes have failed”launches the one who says “terrified” by the rise of masculinist remarks, particularly from the United States since the election of Donald Trump. At 70 years old, « [elle a] fear for the future »she confides, remembering the impact of the Aix-en-Provence rape trial in 1978. She hopes that the Mazan rape trial will allow further progress: “What more do they need to react? »

Four hundred organizations

This trial with international resonance “shows that rape culture is rooted in society, like violence against women”explained Amandine Cormier, of Grève feministe, during a press conference Wednesday in Paris. “Patriarchal violence occurs everywhere, in homes, in workplaces, places of study, in the street, in transport, in healthcare establishments…”

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 paltry and decreasing, political action is almost non-existent”deplore the signatories. In November 2017, Emmanuel Macron made equality between women and men a “great cause of the five-year term”with for “first pillar” the struggle “for the complete elimination of violence against women”.

The associations are asking for an annual budget of 2.6 billion euros

An emergency call number, 39-19, for women victims of violence and those around them, has been set up as well as the Serious Danger Telephone system and anti-reconciliation bracelets. Measures welcomed by associations defending women's rights, who however consider them insufficient and urge the Head of State to change gear.

Recalling the support of the President of the Republic for Gérard Depardieu, the adoption in the Senate of a bill against gender transitions among minors, Yéléna Mandengué, member of #NousToutes, called on Saturday for a “startle” : “We are all affected by gender-based violence. »

“Today, we are very worried about the financing of associations, we are closing offices”lamented Sarah Durocher, president of Family Planning, at the same press conference.

The associations are demanding a total budget of 2.6 billion euros per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace 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, to “improve the go-to systems” victims, particularly in rural areas, to strengthen “the reception and care of victims” by one “training of front-line actors”she clarified.