France Sees Widespread Protests Against Rising Femicide and Conservative Backlash on Women’s Rights

On November 22, 2024, France witnessed a surge of feminist-led protests across Paris and other cities, addressing the alarming rise in femicides and the conservative backlash threatening women’s rights. Organized by the collective Grève féministe, encompassing around sixty associations and unions, the demonstrations demand a radical overhaul of government policies to better protect women against gender-based violence.

Recent data from the Mission interministérielle pour la protection des femmes (Miprof) revealed an 11% increase in femicides from 2023 to 2024, with 107 women killed by partners or ex-partners. Additionally, a woman is assaulted every two minutes in France, underscoring the urgency of reforms, including a proposed 3 billion euro budget for prevention and victim support. Floriane Volt from the Fondation des femmes called for a “true revolution” in prevention, victim care, and judicial responses.

The protests coincide with warnings from the Council of Europe regarding low prosecution rates for sexual violence in France. Concurrently, at the Women’s Forum in Paris, activists including lawyer Nannette Lafond-Dufour highlighted the global rise of conservative movements undermining women’s rights—referred to as a “backlash” phenomenon—prompting mobilizations for demonstrations on November 22 and 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

These collective efforts aim to break the illusion that women’s rights are irrevocably secured, emphasizing the need for courage and sustained activism to combat both violence and regressive societal trends.