Protesters hit Cannes red carpet to condemn femicide, smoke bombs used to attract attention

Days after protesters stormed the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet against rapes in Ukraine, another set of protesters took centre-stage to hold a demonstration against femicide in France.

A group of women unfurled a banner listing the names of all 129 femicide victims in France "since the last edition of the film festival." The protesters were all dressed in black and let off black smoke bombs as they raised their fists during the demonstration. The protests were reportedly organised by a feminist collective called Les Colleuses.

The demonstration was carried out during the premiere of Holy Spider in Cannes on Sunday. The video of the protest soon went viral on social media, with users praising the demonstrators for standing up for the victims of femicide in France.

The femicide rate in France has been one of the highest in Europe. As many as 770 femicides have taken place in the country over the last six years, according to a feminist collective called Féminicides par compagnons ou ex.

According to a report by the World Health Organisation, femicide is generally understood to involve the intentional murder of women on account of their gender, but a broader definition includes any killings of women or girls.

This is the second such protest that has taken place in Cannes this year. Last Friday, a woman disrupted the premiere of George Miller's Three Thousand Years of Longing to protest against rapes in Ukraine.

The woman, who had "stop raping us" painted across her torso, tore off her clothes to reveal the message. The woman was immediately escorted out by the security guards present at the event, wrote The Independent.

The protest was a response to several reports of sexual violence being carried out in Ukraine by Russian forces. The 75th edition of the film festival has been screening several films by Ukrainian filmmakers. It has also barred people with close ties to the Kremlin from attending the event.