Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of France on Saturday to mark International Womens Day. While Femen activists in Paris marched with the US or Russian flag painted across their naked chests along with a swastika, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with a message of solidarity for Afghan women living under the oppressive Taliban regime.

The organiser,Grve fministe(Feminist Strike), estimated that 250,000 people had taken to the streets acrossFranceat some 150 demonstrations, with 120,000 people inParisalone.

But police put turnout in the capital at less than half of that, at 47,000 people.

Some demonstrators took aim at US PresidentDonald Trumpincluding women from theFemenactivist group. They 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.

"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.

In the evening, theEiffel Towerwas lit up with a message of solidarity with Afghan women, whose freedoms have been curtailed since theTalibanreturned to power. The message: "SOS Afghan Women," was displayed in French, English, Farsi and Arabic.

Salary grievances remained top of the agenda for many of the marchers. The average women's salary in France is around 14 percent lower than a man's for the same amount of time worked, according to the national statistics institute Insee.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Originally published on France24