Several thousand people took part in Sunday's public demonstration in the town of Argenteuil in a suburb northwest of the French capital.
The silent march was organised to protest against the scourge of bullying on social media, which seven days ago plunged Argenteuil into mourning and shock.
Fourteen-year-old local girl, Alisha Khalid, drowned in the river Seine last Wednesday, the victim of bullying on social media and, according to the initial police investigation, of a follow-up physical attack.
Two 15-year-olds are currently in custody and being questioned by the police in connection with the investigation.
Many parents who took part in Sunday's protest say they are fearful for their children in the face of on-line harassment.
One woman says she now systematically checks her grand-daughter's phone when the child comes home from junior school, where she has been ridiculed by classmates for her personal appearance on the application TikTok. The grandmother says she is fearful for the youngster when she reaches junior high-school age.
Suicide attempts
Another adult marcher says her son needed psychiatric help after a suicide attempt because of internet bullying in the Lycée Cognaq-Jay, the same school as Alisha and her alleged attackers.
"It has become an everyday occurrence," another mother tells Le Monde newspaper. "The schools are going to have to take this in hand urgently. Right now, they are learning from their mistakes, and you see where that leads?"
Valérie Pécresse, president of the regional council, has called for a broader consciousness of the danger of on-line harassment. "Bullying at school can kill children," she said. "Let's make sure that Alisha did not die for nothing."
Junior Minister for citizens affairs Marlène Schiappa has promised to establish a special task force, with the participation of parents, school authorities and the police, to better equip adults in evaluating and reacting to the on-line dangers faced by their school-going children.
The programme is intended to ensure that parents have "the pedagogic and psychological tools necessary" to answer their children's questions and, if necessary, intervene before there's another tragic death.
