ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the theme of gender in modern and contemporary French politics. The chapter traces the development of the role of women in the French political sphere since 1944, including the parity laws designed to ensure that 50% of all political candidates at all electoral levels in France are women. The chapter argues that whilst there have been inroads in greater gender parity in legislative elections for the National Assembly, other elections, especially on a local level, have not witnessed this same parity. Indeed, the chapter demonstrates that although women are better represented on electoral bodies in France today than in the recent past, parity has above all favoured women from the same socio-economic elite as male politicians. The chapter argues that there is still some way to go to enabling the French political sphere to reflect the wider diversity of the French population.
