In Paris, some 300 people gathered at the Place de la République, alongside the feminist collectives "On Arrête Toutes" and "Du Pain et des Roses", calling for women to "go on strike" on Monday.
According to the statistics organisation Eurostat, women were paid 14.1 percent less than men in the EU in 2018, a figure which has not changed a great deal. A reality which has sharply degraded since the Covid pandemic.
In Lyon, around 6000 people turned out for a festive demonstration, according to a teachers' trade union Sud Education 69, in the Rhone region.
They also called for a general strike on Monday, pointing out that while 80 percent of school teachers are women, there are more male school directors - one in five, compared to one in eight women.
Women teachers earn 13.9 percent less than their male counterparts, they wrote.
➡️80% des prof des écoles sont des femmes MAIS un homme sur 5 est directeur d'école, contre une femme sur 8 !
— Sud Education 69 (@SudEduc69) February 13, 2021
➡️Le salaire net des enseignantes est inférieur de 13,9% à celui de leurs collègues masculins !https://t.co/w7lzW4fWKX pic.twitter.com/w2nPpUuNpe
In Montpellier and Lille, posters, banners and signs called out areas where society must make more effort, be it for rights to abortion, tackling inequality and sexual violence.
There were references to the need to fight domestic violence and femicide, which claimed the lives of 90 women in 2020.
#Montpellier la manifestation féministe du #8mars se termine dans une ambiance combative ✊🏼💜 pic.twitter.com/DaHOY6Bjns
— Révolution Permanente (@RevPermanente) March 7, 2021
Slogans were chanted, including the demand for access to medically assisted pregnancies (PMA), a debate which has deeply divided France.
In Nice, a march was organised despite the weekend lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The United Nations has named the theme for International Women’s Day (8 March), “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world,” celebrating the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the pandemic and highlights the gaps that remain.
