Braving the cold, hundreds of schoolboys in the city of Nantes in western France swapped their trousers for skirts Friday as part of an anti-sexism initiative.

French schoolboys wear skirts to fight sexism

A group of male pupils pose in their skirts. © @ BreizhWeCan (Twitter)

Hundreds of male pupils in the city of Nantes in western France ditched their trousers and came to school wearing skirts Friday as part of a campaign against sexism, despite opposition by some conservative groups.

The “Lift the Skirt” initiative, an idea put together by students, saw pupils at 27 schools in the region around Nantes invited to attend school wearing skirts as part of efforts to raise awareness of discrimination and sexism faced by their female classmates. In the photos the girls are also wearing skirts… could be the girls are forced to wear skirts to school in that area by sexist authorities and the boys protest is partly in ironic solidarity.