Overseas Territories in the French Media

Interviewed for Libération by Agathe Di Lenardo, Sophie Barre, a member of the French feminist group #NousToutes, denounces rape culture, gender discrimination and sexual violence among young people in France. Responding to a damning government report, she identifies a “serious lack of political will” to implement practical solutions.

Writing in La Montagne, a local paper from the Auvergne region, Jean-Baptiste Botella reports on a local initiative in which a support group for victims of domestic violence has created an escape game for high school students; participants learn to recognise the signs of abuse and how to seek appropriate responses.

Writing on International Women’s Day for Radio Canada's online news site, Magalie Masson reports on the specific demands of unions and diverse feminist groups in Quebec. In particular, those who spoke at demonstrations were calling for pay equity and action on intersectional issues.

The sport section of Le Figaro reports on the shockingly macho pep talk given by a top flight French football manager (who has since resigned), in which he made light of the charge of sexual harassment brought against one of the players in his starting line-up.

Hélène Paquet, writing in Slate, presents the views of two feminist sociologists who argue that the popularisation of the concept of “mental load” in discussions of domestic gender politics has taken an unhelpful turn for women. What began as a marxist political idea has been turned into a self-help question, creating one more burden of responsibility for women to bear.

In an open letter published by Le Monde to mark International Safe Abortion Day, a politician and three representatives of French midwifery associations denounce the government’s inaction in implementing recent French legislation allowing midwives to perform surgical abortions. Many of their complaints remain valid 5 months later.

According to Emile Boutelier and Libération, it has been historically difficult to encourage women from French Guiana to get involved in feminist causes, often for reasons related to the overseas territory’s colonial past, but this situation is slowly changing and activism is on the rise.

In an article published on the website of the public TV channel France 3, Sophie Béchir reports on efforts to raise awareness of the services available for reporting gender-based harassment in the Parisian regional transport system.

Writing in Le Parisien, Christine Mateus outlines some of the major conflicts surrounding questions of transactivism and the role of trans women in feminist movements in France and beyond. Will the issue cause a major schism, or will feminists on either side of this vexed debate come to an understanding?

Writing in Slate, Eloise Bussy gathers together various accounts of women facing specific problems in accessing support for domestic abuse in rural areas of France (extract).