The Difficult Struggle for Women’s Political Rights in France

Abstract

Universal suffrage was extended to women in France in 1944, in the middle of a reorganization of public institutions during World War II. Women's political demands began with the French Revolution in 1789. In her 'Universal Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen' (1791), Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) redefined the nation as 'nothing more than the union of Woman and Man'. the suffragists made over a century ago has thus paid off, though late: political parties do have an electoral interest in promoting the equality of the sexes. Suffragists' optimistic prediction of a slow but steady feminization of elected assemblies is still not a reality; there has instead been a regression. Political parties, less open to those who are not career politicians, have increasingly recruited from the political breeding ground of the Grandes Ecoles. Political equality of the sexes in France will not be reached any time soon. Keywords:feminization; France; French revolution; political equality; suffragists