THOUSANDS of protesters took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday against femicide and sexual violence.

In Paris, large crowds of women and men marched waving purple placards that denounced gender-based violence and defended women’s reproductive rights.

The march expressed solidarity for Gisele Pelicot. The harrowing trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men being prosecuted for rapes while she was drugged and unconscious has stoked anger about sexual violence in France.