A French far-left activist has sparked uproar online after footage showed her telling a woman who had been threatened with rape she was simply “collateral damage”.
Bettina Zourli, a gender studies graduate, was confronted by a woman who said rioters had threatened to rape her after she tried to stop them looting a shop while she was in her apartment with her child, in footage that has circulated widely online.
Videos of the heated exchange, shared by French outlet Brut, show Ms Zourli responding by describing the threat as “collateral damage”.
The remarks triggered outrage in France, with former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among those condemning the exchange.
Ms Zourli, a gender studies graduate who describes herself as an “author, speaker and content creator specialising in feminist issues”, has since apologised for her choice of words, describing them as “shocking”.
“It is obviously shocking to be threatened with rape,” she said. “Sexist and sexual violence remains widespread in France.”
But there was a caveat. She explained: “Collateral damage is ‘an unfortunate, indirect and unintended consequence resulting from a primary action’.
“So, when I tell a woman who was threatened with rape during the day of mobilisation on October 17 that this threat is collateral damage, I am saying that this rape threat has NOTHING TO DO with the October 17 mobilisation.”
The feminist activist said her apparent dismissal of the threat was “not to minimise it” and she has since received thousands of threats.
“I was indeed clumsy with my words, and that every time this woman interrupted me, I should have reiterated that I condemned this rape threat,” she continued.
“It also shows that I am a human being who sometimes says stupid things, particularly when I am backed into a corner and when extremely violent things are being said to me, but that I am also capable of questioning myself.
“I reacted coldly to the account of a person who was in a state of shock, and I regret it.
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“I was myself in a state of shock: just a few minutes earlier, I had left a heated altercation with two men who were making hateful remarks towards me. That does not excuse my poor choice of words, I accept that.”
She described the ongoing violent French riots as “resistance” and “not the act of vandals,” comparing the ongoing unrest to the Suffragettes movement.
France’s turmoil on the streets, which has rocked the nation for the best part of a month, is yet again expected to intensify this weekend.
Some 70,000 security forces will be mobilised on Saturday to maintain order, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed on Friday.
Museums are also set to close their doors in preparation for another weekend of unrest.
It is estimated more than 3,000 shops were looted last weekend, while 1,800 people were arrested as more than 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday alone.
Shopkeepers throughout Paris are said to be stocking up on self-defence weapons, with gun shops telling The Times they had noticed a rise in “pepper-gel” sales.
French President Emmanuel Macron had been expected to meet with school unions before the weekend in a last-ditch attempt to squash the anticipated violence, but France’s main student union, UNEF, confirmed rallies were to go ahead.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu earlier this week asked local municipalities to impose partial curfews, confirming local mayors will be given the power to introduce partial curfews in an effort to protect people and shops.
The ultra-left party France Unbowed (LFI) and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon have been blamed for the violent protests that have ripped through France over recent weeks.
Mr Nuñez held a press conference yesterday, again condemning calls from the far-left for further violence.
“Look at social media: there have been calls from the far-left to target public buildings,” he told reporters. “We are not talking about a nice protest. We are ready tomorrow to be extremely firm and not tolerate anything.”
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