A woman was attacked on a Paris street, fueling a national conversation about sexual harassment



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PARIS – She was walking down a Paris street when it came, not far away from home. In a scene that shocked an entire nation, a man approached her in broad daylight, punched her in the face and managed to escape.

Marie Laguerre, a 22-year-old architecture student, broadcast CCTV videos. incident on his personal Twitter account. He shows Laguerre by turning a corner on July 24, dragged a short time later by a man who clearly tells him something, although the video has no audio component.

Laguerre continues to walk, but she ends up stopping to confront the man, turning to look at him. He hits her in the face, directly in front of the terrace of a cafe where a handful of people are chatting and smoking. The timestamp of the images reveals that the confrontation took place just after 18:30. – almost three hours before sunset.

The man – who has not been identified – has escaped, but prosecutors have since opened an investigation. Laguerre, however, has taken social media to turn her experience into the latest illustration of the dangers that target women even in the most innocuous public spaces.

"Because I responded to his harassment, a man beat me in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day, in front of dozens of witnesses." Unacceptable Stop the street harassment She wrote in the same post Twitter where she released the images

The brutal scene scandalized a nation already struggling with the repression of sexual harassment – especially the cataclysm on the streets.In March, the French government has approved immediate fines starting at 90 euros ($ 105) for anyone caught sexually harassing a woman on the street or on public transport, but as government spokesman Benjamin admitted. Griveaux at the time, the challenge would be to identify and apprehend the offenders.The case of Laguerre only made this challenge

meanwhile, a crowd of politicians in favor of Laguerre

"It is It is intolerable that in France, in 2018, women are hit on the street because they refuse to be insulted as they walk. This is a fundamental issue of freedom, "said Marlene Schiappa French minister of gender equality, speaking of French television BFM. Schiappa was the chief advocate of a crackdown on catcalling.

The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo tweeted his support, promising " total solidarity ."

Last year, a French version of the #MeToo movement gained significant traction, a notable development in a culture with traditions of both machismo and flirting.
#Balancetonporc (or "screams on your pig") saw French women harassing their stalkers on social networks – often by identifying them by name. However, some French feminists, including a number from an older generation, criticized the movement because, in their interpretation, it sought in a way to control sexuality. In an open letter to the controversial Le Monde newspaper in January 2018, they defended what they call "the right to bother".

But the case of Laguerre shows what can mean such "boredom". I knew he was going to hit me, "she told the French newspaper Le Parisien, noting that the man, who seemed to be in his thirties, had grumbled and insulted her beforehand

. my head but I remained upright and dignified as best as I could. "

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