“NOT OVER”
Some demonstrators their directed ire at US President Donald Trump.
In Paris, women from the Femen activist group marched topless with either the US or the Russian national flag, marked with a swastika, painted on their chests.
Dozens of women have alleged the Republican sexually abused them, and his administration has been accused of pushing through anti-women policies.
“This is a battle, it’s not over,” said 49-year-old Sabine, who was marching with her seven-year-old son in Paris, where organisers put turnout at around 250,000. Police gave a figure of 47,000.
“We’re going in the right direction: Trump, the masculinists, they make lots of noise but they’re not as strong as we are,” she told AFP.
At the Berlin protest, some protesters held placards bearing messages including “Burn the patriarchy not the planet”.
One marcher, Steff Voigt, expressed her fears for the future.
“I find it quite frightening how certain developments are reversing, how women’s rights could simply be moving backward again, so to speak, because of the right. Especially in the USA,” she said.