FranceLink

Women's right to vote in France hits 70th anniversary

President Hollande leads celebrations, joined by new Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, but warns more needs to be done to ensure full equality.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

To support Mediapart subscribe

France is celebrating the 70th anniversary of women's right to vote. Before 1944, French women did not have the same political rights as men, seven decades later, they now participate fully in elections. Yet despite their achievements, they still remain under-represented in government, reports RFI.

Flanked by two senior female politicians, Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister of Women's Rights, François Hollande celebrated 70 years of  equal voting rights for women.

But he warned that much more still needed to be done.

Today, just 27 per cent of French members of parliament are women, including Justice minister Christiane Taubira and new Ecology minister Segolene Royal.

However the recent government reshuffle did see the exit of top female ministers like Cécile Duflot, Minister of Housing and Fleur Pellerin, former Minister of new technology.

Read more of this report from RFI.