Paris protesters demand action as France faces surge in gender-based violence

Dozens of protesters filled central Paris on Tuesday night to condemn the surge in gender-based violence and pay tribute to its victims.

“We are constantly overwhelmed by reality," signed 78-year-old activist Marie-Josée, as the crowd honoured five women killed last week by their partners or ex-partners in France.

The demonstration came just hours before the government received a major new report calling for France to radically reform how its justice system handles domestic abuse cases.

The report was submitted on Tuesday to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin. The document recommends testing a new type of magistrate dedicated solely to intrafamilial violence cases.

Revealed earlier this week by French media outlet Le Parisien ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the report warned that “domestic violence is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach”.

Despite political commitments stretching back years, many protesters said the situation women in France are continuing to face is further deteriorating.

“It seems to me that since the 1990s, there has been a regression in terms of equality,” said Marie-Josée. She added that she struggles to understand “why there is such indifference towards women, especially older ones."

Her frustration signals a mounting crisis. In 2024, 107 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner nationwide — representing an 11% increase from the previous year.

Recent data published last week by the government’s MIPROF (Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women against Violence) mission shows that every day in France, more than three women are victims of a femicide or attempted femicide, a figure that continues to rise year-on-year.

Activist organisations warn these numbers still do not reflect the "full scale" of the crisis.

The government’s annual observatory likewise reports that “every seven hours, a woman is killed, attempted to be killed, driven to suicide, or has attempted suicide by her partner or ex-partner.”

Women aged 70 and above represented 26% of victims, a nine per cent increase in one year.

The horrific and heavily covered case of 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot, who was drugged by her husband and raped by dozens of men over a decade, sent shockwaves not only in France, but around the world.

It exposed a largely hidden reality; senior women are also victims of sexual violence, a reality long ignored due to sexist and ageist assumptions.

Speaking about older victims, Violette, a member of the Solidaires Union who attended the Paris protest, said their voices are often dismissed because “they are considered not bankable as younger women can be."

Specifically, regarding the Pelicot case, she added: “It woke people up for 10 minutes and then died down again… we shouldn’t wait for a media shock to do anything.”

One of the reasons, according to her, is that France’s strategy remains incoherent and chronically underfunded.

“Today, there is a lack of organisations saying that €3 billion a year is needed to move things forward," Violette said in an interview with Euronews.

Yet the government’s 2025 budget for gender equality reaches just €94 million, far below what organisations argue is necessary for an effective nationwide policy.

The Council of Europe had already described France’s low prosecution rate for perpetrators as “particularly worrying,” urging Paris to adopt and enforce stricter measures.

As the French Parliament examines new proposals and organisations beef-up calls for long-term investment, protesters on Tuesday night said they fear the government still does not grasp the severity of the crisis.