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Paris Throng Protests Violence Against Women

Associated Press

   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 current or former partners.
   That's about one every two or three days.

   While France has a progressive reputation and 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.

   'Femicide'

   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 was aimed at pressuring the French
   government before itunveilsnew measures Monday to tackle the problem.

   The measures are expected to include seizing firearms from people
   suspected of domestic violence and prioritizing policetrainingso they
   won't brush off women's complaints as a private affair.

   ``We live in a culture that finds excuses for assailants,''
   AlyssaAhrabare, spokeswoman for activist groupOsezleFeminisme(Try
   feminism), told The Associated Press. She called for better training
   for people in police stations and hospitals who encounter victims of
   domestic violence, and more shelters for abusedwomen.

   Some of Saturday's marchers want 1 billion euros in government
   investment, though the funding is expected to fall far short of that.

   French activists have stepped up efforts this year to call attention to
   the problem, with an unusual campaign of gluing posters around Paris
   and other cities every time another woman is killed. The posters honor
   the women and call for action. Activists also hold protests, lying down
   on the pavement to represent the slain women.

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