The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was part of the traditional demonstration against violence against women. At 14:10 p.m., the rally against violence against women organized by the collective Nous Toutes, Place de la Nation, is already filled with tension and cacophony.
Near a tree, two groups shout at each other. On the one hand, there are women and men, some of whom have their trousers covered in red paint, from the October 7 collective, which wants to keep public opinion alert about the Israeli hostages of Hamas. They yell, "We are all Israelis"; "Associations, wake up, October 7 is not taboo!" Céline, 50, said she was there because "it was the only way to talk about the violence against Israeli women on October 7, otherwise the organizers wouldn't have talked about it."
Palestinian Flag
For this collective, this rally organized by Nous Tous is "unworthy". He accuses feminists of being "complicit" in Hamas' crimes because they are "silent" about sexual violence against Israeli women.
Their anger is matched by the anger of the demonstrators with masked faces, sometimes carrying a Palestinian flag or a placard with the classic slogans of feminist struggles: "my body, my choice, my rights"; "Let trans kids live."
The "classic" procession of the demonstration organized by Nous toutes. Madeleine Meteyer/Le Figaro
"They don't belong here," sighs 17-year-old Elijah, who looks at the October 7 protesters with spite. He says both "this is a demonstration for women's rights, not about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and "of course it's horrible violence against Israeli women, but we're talking about genocide in Palestine."
Héloïse and Élise show us their placards, in the procession of Nous Toutes. Madeleine Meteyer/ Le Figaro
After an attempted scuffle initiated by black blocs and some nervous members of the October 7 collective, the two groups ended up royally ignoring each other.
The Palestinian procession at the demonstration against sexual violence against women in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Madeleine Meteyer / Le Figaro
In reality, there seems to be a procession per cause. As for the demonstration organized by Nous toutes, we sing a remixed YMCA whose lyrics are as follows: "women are mistreated, women are raped". Next to this pseudo-festive gathering that denounces the "mental load" in songs, another procession, bristling with Palestinian flags, is made up of serious faces.
Palestinian flags are for sale, 5 euros a flag, "it works well" assures the seller. Madeleine Meteyer/ Le Figaro
There, the demonstrators shouted: "Long live the struggle of Palestinian women." And the placards read: "Gaza: 50,000 pregnant women under bombs"; "Palestine will live, Palestine will win."
Amel, a 22-year-old history student, is "used to coming to all the demonstrations, well, the ones for causes that touch me." In previous years, Amel didn't have a "from the river to the sea" sign in her hand. This year, she inscribes the struggle for the "survival of Palestine in the midst of genocide even if some are embarrassed by the word" in the struggle for women. Amel understands the October 7 collective's desire to hear a special word for Israeli women because "October 7 was a butchery and it's infamous," but she doesn't support it: "Israeli women come second in my thoughts because my struggle is primarily about Palestinian women." It is a question of political priority.