France has a domestic violence problem. Women are frustrated and losing patience

More than 130 women have died from domestic violence this year alone in France, according to activists

Women have pasted signs all over Paris to pressure authorities to do more to help the victims

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The word "violence" is pasted onto a wall by a group of women in a dark street in Paris. Photo: AP

Published: 12:08am, 23 Nov 2019Updated: 2:03am, 23 Nov 2019

Sylvia. Dalila. Aminata. Céline. Julie. Their names are plastered on buildings and headlines across France, calling attention to their shared fate: Each was killed, allegedly by a current or former partner this year.

More than 130 women have died from domestic violence this year alone in France, according to activists who track the deaths.

European Union studies show France has a higher rate of domestic violence than most of its European peers. And frustrated activists have drawn national attention to a problem President Emmanuel Macron has called “France’s shame”.

Under cover of night, activists have glued posters with the names of the dead and calls to action to French city walls. “Complaints ignored, women killed,” read the black block letters on one such sign. By the hundreds, women have walked silently through city streets after each new death.

And two years after Macron made a campaign pledge to tackle the problem, the government has begun to act.

Activists hold placards with the names of women killed by their partners during a protest in Paris. Photo: AP

A Justice Ministry report released earlier this month acknowledged authorities’ systematic failure to intervene to prevent domestic violence murders.