Across France, International Women’s Day on March 8 will feature nearly 150 demonstrations organized by more than a hundred groups, including feminist associations and unions, with events ranging from marches to village gatherings, bike rides, meals, nocturnal processions, and concerts.

The day is being marked with activities nationwide to raise awareness on gender equality, reproductive rights, violence against women, and bodily autonomy, alongside calls for stronger protections and resources.

Organisers warn that the rise of the far right threatens hard-won freedoms, arguing that conservative currents tend to roll back women’s rights and abortion access amid funding cuts and clinic closures.

A separate rally by the Nemesis collective, a far-right women’s identitarian group, is acknowledged as a hijacking of feminism for racist ends, prompting organizers to welcome a separate event.

Economic empowerment remains central, with data showing a 21.8% average pay gap for women in the private sector in 2024, and a 3.6% gap at equivalent full-time roles, fueling calls for pay transparency and EU-style directives.

Marche organizers emphasize fighting the gender pay gap and pushing for pay-transparency laws as part of the broader push for women’s equality and rights.

Activists demand a three-billion-euro annual budget and a comprehensive framework law addressing prevention, education, victim support, and harsher penalties for perpetrators of gender-based violence.

The push for a broad framework on violence against women is paired with calls for stronger legislative action and timely parliamentary consideration ahead of a pivotal electoral period.

In Paris, the main 14:00 demonstration will start at the Stalingrad area and move toward Place de la République, with additional protests planned in multiple cities including Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, and Nantes.

A separate Nemesis gathering in western Paris is planned as a separate protest, with organizers seeking to ban their participation in the main march to prevent instrumentalization of feminism.

Past turnout figures noted include about 120,000 participants in Paris and 250,000 nationwide last year, with police counts in Paris around 47,000, illustrating large-scale mobilization.

International solidarity efforts are highlighted, including Grève féministe, while organizers warn of renewed challenges to abortion rights and sexual/reproductive rights amid budget constraints for grassroots groups.