Because I go around France against gender violence

people find me “brave” but i’m not starting. I have had a lump in my throat for weeks and my neck is blocked. I feel terrified of this new beginning. I’m about to cross the Pyrenees alone. I go walk and sleep in the tent for three months. Others warn me against ” bear “ and the “attackers” but i’m just scared of the fall. I’ve never hiked high in the mountains before. What if I have thunderstorms and rain for days? My little poncho won’t resist. I have already suffered from the cold during expeditions and it traumatized me.

I have already traveled 3,000 kilometres

My walking tour of France started three years ago. After a solo trip to Compostela, I had the brilliant idea of ​​following the French coasts and borders. I left Dunkirk (North) on the 1st^um July 2020, for a three-month first stage which finished in Lannion (Côtes-d’Armor) after 1,500 kilometres. I gave this trip a political meaning by calling it “Survivor Tour”, in French “Tour de France of a survivor”. Why I have survived multiple sexual assaults during my short life and today I call myself a feminist.

29 years old, based in Cherbourg (Manche), I am an adventurer, journalist and feminist author. Between 2016 and 2019 I walked alone from Paris to Compostela and dedicated the last 700 kilometers to the victims of femicides, these women killed because of their gender. Also in 2019, I circumnavigated the globe on a freighter and published a feminist book about it titled The power. With my current Survivor Tour, I intend to fight against all sexist and sexual violence.

I say that I claim public space because I walk for months without a male protector. Almost every night I sleep alone in my tent, despite warnings from people I meet who fear that I am “raped and killed” in the woods. The myth of Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf has a bright future ahead of it. I’m not claiming to be completely safe on hiking trails because there are attackers everywhere, in the city and in the countryside. But I fear nothing at night because no one will venture into a dark forest looking for me. I tell anyone who will listen that my safety is more threatened in my home with a potential abusive spouse than it is deep in the woods.

Since the start of the Survivor Tour in 2020, I have covered a total of 3,000 kilometers between Dunkirk and Hendaye (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). I’ve met hundreds of people, slept with strangers, and traveled the entire Atlantic coast. I confronted an exhibitionist man masturbating in front of me on the side of a road, a stalker hiker that i had to sue to get rid of and sexist people giving me unsolicited advice.

From the beginning of the adventure, I use feminist self-defense (emotional, verbal and physical) taught by professional trainers in Paris to survive. I practice fleeing in the event of an assault, saying “no” to embarrassing propositions, and visualizing other responses in my head. As a result, I am no longer afraid of suspicious noises, which are frequent at night in the forest. I sleep soundly, ten hours straight.

A 3-month crossing, from Hendaye to Montpellier

This summer I will cross the Pyrenees for the third stage of the Survivor Tour. I intend to walk from 1^um July to September 30, 2023. I hope to cover another 1,500 kilometres, of which 922 kilometers are on the GR10 long-distance trail. Point to the Mediterranean and also to Montpellier for the end of this stage. I will tell about all my adventures on social networks. I will testify orally about significant events and potential violence experienced in my Sologamie podcast. “FEMINIST” hat on my head and “NO” tattoo on my neck, I intend to use my trekking poles to survive the dizzying ascents and descents.

Maybe in a few years I will overcome the 10,000 kilometers of the Tour de France on foot. Despite my current stress, I like hiking solo because it gives me confidence in my body. I consider myself a great athlete. My legs are muscular because I walk about 20 kilometers a day. I take a day off after three days of walking. I rest in the campsites that I find on my way.

After months of effort, I acquire inexhaustible stamina. I don’t progress very fast but I avoid fatigue and injuries. This slowness is a luxury that allows me to appreciate my surroundings. I find nature so beautiful in the summer. Every day I meet people and I pass on some of my feminism to the people I meet on the street. I feel strong and proud as a woman, as a victim of gender-based violence, as an adventurer. In short, I hope to get rid of the lump in my throat and my bad stiff neck by surviving this third stop of the Survivor Tour. Let’s go !

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