'Woman. Life. Freedom': Thousands march in Paris to back Iran anti-hijab protest

Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: Vast stream of people walked from the French capital's traditional protest hub of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation.

Thousands of people marched in Paris on Sunday to condemn Iran's Islamic leadership in a giant show of solidarity with the protests that erupted there after the death in custody of young Mahsa Amini.

Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: Protesters march a demonstration to show support for Iranian protesters standing up to their leadership over the death of a young woman in police custody in Paris. (AP)

Following major rallies in key diaspora cities including Los Angeles and Toronto over the weekend, a vast stream of people walked from the French capital's traditional protest hub of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation.

"Join the first feminist revolution!" and "Mahsa Amini -- your name has made the tyranny of the ayatollahs shake!" were among the slogans carried by the protesters as they braved sometimes pouring rain.

They chanted "death to the Islamic republic!", "death to the dictator", as well as "Woman. Life. Freedom", the three words that have become the main slogan of the protests in Iran.

They also sang along to "Baraye" ("For") which Iranian songwriter Shervin Hajipour put together using Twitter postings about the protests.

The song became a huge viral hit on Instagram, moving many to tears, but Hajipour has now been arrested in a symbol of the vehemence of the crackdown against the protests in Iran.

Despite that crackdown, which according to the Iran Human Rights (IHR) group has left 92 dead and severe cuts to the internet, protests are continuing daily in Iran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday again accused Iran's "enemies" of "conspiring" against the state and said their attempts had "failed", as the country's largest anti-government protests since 2019 showed no signs of abating.

The groundswell of popular unrest began after Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested by the morality police for infringing Iran's strict dress code for women, was declared dead in custody on September 16.