Thousands march in France over violence against women amid rape trial

Thousands of people have taken part in nationwide protests in France demanding better protection of women amid a high-profile rape case currently awaiting a verdict in court.

The CGT trade union spoke of 100,000 participants at the rallies on Saturday, including 80,000 in Paris.

Police estimated the number of demonstrators nationwide at 20,000, the broadcaster France Info reported, with more rallies planned for Monday.

The protests are linked to a prominent trial in the south of France, which is due to end in the next few days.

The main defendant is Dominique Pelicot, who, according to the indictment, drugged and abused his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot for almost ten years and offered her to other men to be assaulted.

Pelicot, who is now 72, believes she was raped around 200 times.

Her former husband confessed in court. In addition to him, 50 other men who were charged face up to 20 years in prison.

The trial in Avignon has triggered a shockwave in France with calls for better protection of women.

The case has also reignited the debate on sexual consent.

Activists have long been calling for sexual acts to be explicitly consented to and for this to be enshrined in criminal law in a reform known as “yes means yes.”

Alleged perpetrators would then be unable able to argue in court that they did not know about the lack of consent.

The French parliament is currently considering a proposal to amend the law on the definition of sexual violence.

According to the CGT, further demonstrations are planned in the southern city of Avignon on Monday.

The trade union saw the number of participants as a sign that sexual violence against women, ranging from sexual harassment to homicides directed against the female sex – femicides- is finally being brought to light in public.

In Germany too, the Pelicot case has strongly resonated, with protest actions planned in numerous cities to mark Monday’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Events will include a rally at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with an address by Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus.

Paus, together with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the Federal Criminal Police Office, recently presented figures showing that more and more women in Germany are affected by violence.

In 2023, 938 girls and women in Germany were victims of attempted or completed femicide, resulting in 360 deaths, according to official statistics cited by the ministers.

“Despite these alarming figures, women’s shelters and counselling centres in Germany are still underfunded,” leading members of the Left Party said in a joint statement.