After Mazan: France unveils new measures to combat violence against women [Video]

France announced Monday a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.

Equality Minister Salima Saa unveiled a raft of initiatives two days after tens of thousands of people demonstrated in major French cities against violence targeting women, where protestors denounced government actions as “window-dressing”.

A case in the southern city of Avignon for 51 men, including one who drugged his wife over a decade and dozens of others are charged with accepting his invitations to abuse her at their home in Mazan in southern France, has stoked widespread anger.

There will be “a before Mazan, and an after Mazan just like there was a before and after #MeToo,” Saa said during an interview with broadcaster Franceinfo.

But advocates are calling for more far-reaching measures, …