French activist defends 'collateral damage' comment to rape-threat victim

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 24 Oct, 14:32 · Archive

A French far-left activist told a woman threatened with rape during protests that she was 'collateral damage'.

Footage of a heated exchange at French protests has circulated widely online, showing activist Bettina Zourli, a gender studies graduate, telling a woman that being threatened with rape was 'collateral damage'. The woman had approached Zourli to describe how rioters threatened to rape her when she tried to prevent them looting a shop downstairs from her apartment, where she was with her child.

The remarks triggered outrage in France. Gabriel Attal, the Renaissance party's presidential candidate and former Prime Minister, condemned the exchange on social media. Zourli is a supporter of Jean-Luc Melenchon's La France Insoumise and uses Instagram to post about feminist and pro-Palestine activism. She works as a sociology workshop provider at Rennes 2 University in Upper Brittany.

Zourli has since apologised, saying her choice of words was 'shocking'. She acknowledged that 'sexist and sexual violence remains widespread in France'. However, she argued that the rape threat was unrelated to the October 17 mobilisation, and explained that by 'collateral damage' she meant 'an unfortunate, indirect and unintended consequence resulting from a primary action'.

How it is being reported

• Far-left ‘feminist’ sparks fury after telling woman who was threatened with rape during French protests she is ‘collateral damage’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…GB News · 24 Oct, 14:13
• The face of France's far-Left madness: Pro-Palestine 'feminist' tells woman who was threatened with rape during French protests that she is 'collateral damage'An activist has responded after receiving backlash for telling a woman who was threatened with rape in the French protests that she was 'collateral damage'.Daily Mail · 24 Oct, 07:44

In this story: Bettina Zourli · Gabriel Attal · Jean-Luc Melenchon · La France Insoumise · Rennes 2 University · France

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