French student Marie Laguerre dared to tell a man to “shut up” after he wolf whistled at her - How he reacted was pathetic and cowardly
Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a man attacked a woman outside a packed Paris cafe in broad daylight after she complained that he “made dirty noises, commented and whistled.”
French student Marie Laguerre, 22, was walking home in the early evening last Tuesday when the complete stranger wolf whistled at her.
Marie shouted “Shut up!” back, later admitting, “I didn’t even think he had even heard me,” The Sun reports.
She told Le Parisien: “I felt hatred. I refused to be demeaned, it was humiliating. I refused to look down, I looked him right in the eyes, I was not going to apologise.”
It was then that the man slapped her around the face, leaving her with swelling around the cheek bones.
She said: “I was in pain, but it happened in a few seconds so I did not realise it right away.”
The video has since gone viral in France, and one of the main criticism of those who have watched it, is that witnesses did very little hold the man accountable for his actions.
However Marie called for people not to 'lynch' the onlookers, “The attacker was dangerous. After the attack, I came back and the witnesses were very supportive, please don’t lynch them,” she said.
#AllWomenTogether
The video has understandbly caused significant debate on how Women are treated on the streets of France
Taking to her facebook page after the attack, Ms Laguerre wrote: “This is not the only incident. Harassment is everyday. To those men who think anything goes in the street, who allow themselves to humiliate us and who can not stand being offended, it is unacceptable. It is time for this kind of behaviour to STOP. #AllWomenTogether.”
Prosecutors have launched an inquiry into “violence and sexual harassment,” as police try and find the attacker.
French Equalities Minister Marlene Schiappa said she was “outraged but unfortunately not surprised” by what had happened.
''The political response must be strong,” Ms Schiappa said.
