Paris marchers condemn violence against women
PARIS — Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Paris on Saturday to demand a national wake-up call and more government investment to prevent deadly domestic violence against women, a problem that President Emmanuel Macron calls “France’s shame.”
A wave of purple flags and signs snaked from the Place de l’Opera through eastern Paris amid an unprecedented public campaign to decry violence against women — and to honor the 130 women that activists say have been killed in France this year by a current or former partner. That’s about one every two or three days.
While France pushes for women’s rights around the world, it has among the highest rates in Europe of domestic violence, in part because of poor police response to reports of abuse. Many of the women killed this year had previously sought help from police.
At Saturday’s march — one of the biggest demonstrations this year in Paris — French film and TV stars joined abuse victims and activists calling for an end to “femicide.” Many held banners reading “Sick of Rape.”
The protest came on the U.N.’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and is aimed at pressuring the
French government before it unveils new measures Monday to tackle the problem.
The measures are expected to include seizing firearms from people suspected of domestic violence and prioritizing police training so they won’t brush off women’s complaints as a private affair.
“We live in a culture that finds excuses for assailants,” said Alyssa Ahrabare, spokeswoman for activist group Osez le Feminisme (Try feminism). She called for better training for people in police stations and hospitals who come in contact with victims of domestic violence, and more shelters for abused women.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Friday night with a possible infection, the Supreme Court said Saturday night, the latest health scare to confront the 86-year-old senior member of the court.
Ginsburg, the leader of the court’s liberal wing, has been treated twice in the past year for cancer. She missed a recent session of the court’s arguments with what a spokeswoman described as a stomach bug, although she returned to the bench two weeks ago.
Ginsburg’s health is a constant concern for liberals, who live in fear of President Donald Trump replacing her with a conservative justice.