Feminists call on French election candidates to take up 'emergency plan'

Feminist organisations in France have called on presidential election candidates to take up an ambitious "emergency plan" in favour of gender equality with ten objectives from dealing with domestic violence to education and equal salaries.

A protestor holds a placard which reads as "She leaves him, he kills her", during in a demonstration organised by "NousToutes" (All of Us) in Paris, on November 20, 2021. © AFP - ALAIN JOCARD

The opinion piece published in Le Journal du Dimanche was signed by seven leaders of women's groups including Anne-Cécile Mailfert (Fondation des femmes), Dominique Guillien and Françoise Brié (National Federation for the solidarity of women), Danielle Bousquet (National Federation for information on the rights of women and families) and Sarah Durocher (Family Planning).

"Our society has never before been as alarmed at the number of femicides, and yet, we are continuing to count our dead," they wrote.

"If society is so concerned by the question of sexual violence, why has there never been a lower number of sentences handed out by the legal system?"

On the subject of wages, "women are still discriminated against. Even if there is progress on the sharing of household chores, women still take on more than their fair share."

Hence the need for an electroshock on a political scale and a challenge for the winner of the April polls.

"The candidates for the presidency need to adhere to ten ambitious measures within the first 100 days of office."

The first measure is to invest one billion euros per year to put a stop to domestic violence by training professionals to deal with victims, tripling the number of places in emergency housing, and increasing funding for organisations.

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"We need to see a national coordination to deal with violence against women, supported by the president of the Republic".

Abortion, education

Secondly, the women are calling for abortion rights to be enshrined in the constitution, and make this option available to all women across France. 

They have also called for the cancellation of the double "conscience clause" which allows doctors to refuse the carry out an abortion and the need to improve the status of this medical act.

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The opinion piece also calls for a "Grenelle" or public consultation on the topic of wages, to improve sectors where mostly women are employed, often in a part-time capacity.

The measure would include the elimination of discrimination in companies and guarantee access to women for professions of the future.

With regards to the legal front, the opinion piece proposes to set up courts and teams specialised in dealing with violence against women.

Another measure is to guarantee equal access to information about sex education, and personal development, as well as efficient measures against the pornography industry.

For parents, the petition calls for extending the mandatory leave for the spouse or partner (usually taken by fathers), ""revolarise" maternity leave without losing salary, and to provide an attractive option for parental leave for both parents.