Two female topless activists from the self-proclaimed “sextremist” group Femen were violently dragged away after storming the stage at a conference on women and Islam near the French capital of Paris, the media reported on Monday.
A video footage showed the two topless women race on to the stage as two Imams were giving a talk on Saturday evening at the conference in Pontoise near Paris, The Local reported.
The women, of Algerian and Tunisian origin, had anti-Muslim slogans on their chest that said: “No one will submit me, I am my own prophet.” They began shouting the same words to the audience.
While the two Imams were clearly taken aback and shrank away from the women, a group of around 15 men, including security guards, ran onto the stage to stop the protest act.
Images show the two women disappearing under a sea of bodies, with some of the men appearing to launch kicks and slaps at the pair.
Police quickly intervened to lead the two women away.
While the organisers of the conference have announced their intention to file charges, the head of Femen, Inna Shevchenko, has defended the protest.
“The two Imams were in the process of discussing whether or not you should beat your wife,” said Shevchenko.
Femen’s provocative protests have prompted a violent response in the past notably when they disrupted an anti-gay marriage protest in Paris.