Influential French Women Over the Years

Society can work in mysterious ways, shifting quickly with few questions towards certain enhancements in technology, but not as quickly towards shattering that dusty glass ceiling. The rights and advancements of women differ from country to country, but for the most part, the movement is forward. Strong, smart, successful women are not a new species: brilliant women have existed for centuries, contributing constructive knowledge to the world.

France has come a long way over the years in regard to the respect granted women in general. Many women in modern France work outside of the home. These same women hold an undergraduate level degree or higher. There are powerful women in French politics, art, cinema, and law enforcement, with many females pursuing traditionally male professions such as doctors and lawyers. Even so, many of these women choose, mostly due to cultural influences to stay at home, as either a stay-at-home mom, or wife.

Despite the obstacles of inequalities that women in France must still battle, there have been numerous French females who have profoundly impacted the world in different ways. In the midst of their greatness, some of these women have overcome great hurdles and even scandals, but all this shows is that women are just as capable of doing good (and bad) as men, despite what some like to think.

France has seen many great female influences come and go, however, there are five in particular that stand out. Some medieval, bordering mythical, while others are brilliant corrupt women covered in scandal. These women have done what many men could not do, and in the midst of a country, society, and era when macho chauvinism was a part of everyday life. Here are five of the many influential French women throughout time.

She is the French heroine of the fifteenth century, said to have saved France from English rule during the Hundred Years’ War by supporting Charles VII. Joan of Arc was responsible for safely bringing the uncrowned king, Charles VII to Reims where his coronation took place on May 23, 1430. She was captured by the English shortly afterwards and burned alive for heresy and many other charges that would later be repealed. She is now one of the patron saints of France, and a legendary figure in both French folklore and history.

Coco Chanel

A legend in her own right, Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel is one of the biggest fashion icons of all time. Women, we have Chanel to thank for liberating us from the strict, uncomfortable “corset look.” She opened the world’s eyes to a casual, sporty, comfortable, yet chic feminine look enjoyed by women since the post WWI era. She is best known for her Chanel No. 5 fragrance, which to this day is the brand’s number one seller. Through the lovers and scandals of that time, Chanel was also mixed up with Nazi Germany. Evidence has been found documenting that she was a spy for the Germans during WWII. She openly expressed her negative opinions towards Jews, convinced that they were “a Bolshevik threat to Europe.” She spent the remainder of her years as a resident at the Ritz in Paris, where she died. Her funeral was held at the Madeleine in Paris, and was buried in Switzerland.

Marie Curie was a great physicist and chemist. A Polish native, she married a French man and later became a French citizen. She is known for her work on the theory of radioactivity, and the discovery of two elements: polonium and radium. She is the only person to ever win two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences: physics in 1903, and chemistry in 1911. She is the only woman to this day to win two of the Nobel Prizes in two fields, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris, and the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Pantheon in Paris. To this day, there are very few women in the Pantheon. Fortunately, French women are fighting hard to change that. She died in 1934 in France from aplastic anemia, due to over-exposure to radiation.

Simone de Beauvoir is definitely one of the most interesting female figures of France. The French refer to her as one of the first aggressive French feminists of modern time, best known for her philosophical book, “The Second Sex.” Beauvoir was an accomplished philosopher, writer, and teacher. Somewhat ironically, she grew up as a devoted catholic; She even wanted to be a nun. Then, at the age of fourteen she became an atheist, and never looked back. Jean-Paul Sartre, another famous French philosopher, became her life partner, though they decided to simply live together rather than to get married, which was a radical notion at the time.

Beauvoir and Sartre had many lovers, both separately and together. These separate and shared lovers consisted of men and women, old and (some) underage. In later years, Beauvoir lost her right to teach in France for seducing young female pupils of hers, then passing them on to her partner Sartre. Despite the corruption she took part in, her feminist ideas helped elevate France into a country more equal between men and women.

Segolene Royal is a female politician in France. She is currently the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and an important member of the French Socialist Party. She is the first woman in France to be nominated by a major party for the 2007 French Presid ential election, but lost to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The father of her four children is the current President of France, Francois Hollande. Though never married, they were together from late 1970 to the middle of 2007. Royal ended the relationship immediately once she found out he was having a long-term affair with a journalist.

These women have been through the unbelievable, accomplished what seemed impossible, and caused a few scenes along the way. Their actions and achievements show the world that women are just as capable as men in many aspects, including scientific discovery, creating a flourishing brand, saving a country, political success, even adultery and espionage. These women have helped form France, and the world, in regard to the advancement of women.

Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette is currently a resident of Paris, France, where she lives with her husband. Together the two of them operate their small translation company, giving Jacqueline the opportunity to observe the French and their culture up close. She is an avid reader, writer, and student of foreign languages.

By Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette