Protesters hold up the names of femicide victims during a march for International Women's Rights Day in Paris on March 8, 2024. DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP
One in four. In 2024, women aged 70 and above accounted for 26% of the 107 victims of femicide in France, a nine-point increase from the previous year, according to the latest official figures from the national study on violent deaths within couples. Since 2006, when this annual survey was first published, that relatively high proportion has remained constant. "It averages between 15% and 20% of all violent deaths within couples," explained Peggy Rogers, head of the delegation for victims at the Interior Ministry, which conducts the study.
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Most often, a firearm was used by the partner responsible for these murders. Another characteristic was the high rate of suicides or attempted suicides following the crime. On average, over the past six years, 73% of perpetrators aged 70 and over either took their own lives or attempted to do so, compared to 21% in other age groups, observed Aurélien Langlade, head of the criminological research division, who has studied domestic violence among this age group using data from the delegation for victims.
