Dateline: PARIS, February 27, 1999 

After a demonstration by French suffragettes in 1877, Le Figaro, a right-wing newspaper, asked witheringly whether, after women, ``cattle will vote''. It took another 67 years before France's ``second sex'' at last got the vote-well after British women though before the Swiss. A decade later, one appeal-court judge was still arguing against the appointment of female judges, on the ground that, ``firstly, women without exception would be unsuited to carrying out our functions of authority; and secondly, they would damage the prestige of the judiciary.'' Today, half of France's judges are female. But the battle of the sexes rages on. 

The latest fight is in politics. With 11%, France has the lowest proportion of female members of parliament in the European Union, bar Greece. In five countries-Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden-women hold more than 30% of the parliamentary seats. The French share went up from 6% only after the Socialists stipulated that, in at least a third of constituencies, their candidates in the 1997 general election had to be female. Female representation is little higher in France's other elected assemblies. Women account for just 6% of senators, 7% of councillors in the departements, and 8% of mayors. Only in regional councils (24% female) and among French members of the European Parliament (30%) do they do better. 

On taking office, Lionel Jospin, married to a feminist philosopher, promised to do something about this. He promptly gave women a third of the top jobs in his government. Elisabeth Guigou became minister of justice, and Martine Aubry took a new super-ministry for employment, social welfare and health. Mr Jospin also promised to put the concept of ``parity'' into the constitution, which would, he said, guarantee women equal representation with men in all elected assemblies. 

But a law that Mr Jospin's government is trying to introduce on the matter has run into trouble. On February 16th the left-dominated National Assembly gave near-unanimous approval, on second reading, to a bill to revise the constitution to bring about sexual parity. The proposed change stops short of the promised ``equal representation'', and instead talks more vaguely about ``equal access''. 

But even this has proved too much for the right-controlled Senate. It insists that it should be left up to political parties, not the law, to promote ``equal access'', and is set on blocking the bill. If there were quotas or other forms of positive discrimination for women, argue the overwhelmingly male senators, there would soon have to be the same for other groups-Muslims, homosexuals, the poor, and so on. 

The conservative senators are supported by such left-wing feminists as Elisabeth Badinter, philosopher and wife of a former Socialist justice minister, and Evelyne Pisier, a lawyer. Enforced parity, they say, demeans women and undermines the right of voters to choose their representatives freely. Nonsense, reply other hard-headed Socialists such as Mrs Aubry and Mrs Guigou: after half a century with little progress, quotas, however unpalatable, are the only way of loosening the male stranglehold on power. 

The bill is due to return to the Senate on March 4th, when it will probably be rejected again. Usually, the National Assembly can override the Senate on a bill's third reading. But constitutional amendments must be passed in identical terms by both houses. This looks unlikely. Even President Jacques Chirac, who had earlier given the bill his blessing, is reluctant to disavow his troops in the Senate-and Mr Jospin is certainly not about to abandon such a popular, left-wing campaign. 

By Scott Mull

The above article describes the lack of potential for female politicians in France, and the discrimination they experience in the political sector. This article is very interesting as it describes some discrepancies of the French idea of equality, and the potential development of gender based cleavages as the issue is debated in French government. The article sheds some light on French political culture and some of it's shortcomings. It also reveals France's inconsistency with its idea of "equality of outcomes" and further defines the idea of a French "blocked society". 

Due to France's strong central government, French political culture boasts of great equality among all French citizens. This notion is developed through France's equality of education, as well as other state funded programs. The question can be asked though, how equal is France when very few females are afforded political opportunity? This rhetorical question would lead one to believe in the existence of inequality in French society as well as the importance of elitism in French political culture. This idea of elitism can be seen in the "equality" of France's school system. The best, brightest and wealthiest French students enroll in the "grand ecoles" and are almost guaranteed to become political and economic leaders upon graduation. Access to these elite schools rely heavily on family income and importance. The idea of a "blocked society" can be observed in the contradictions of France's educational system. 

In France, politicians hold many different political offices at one time. The more offices one holds, the more power one possesses. This system leads to inequalities for the less powerful and influential political leaders of a community or region. It is often who one knows that will determine how one gets into the French political scene; an idea definitely not based on equality. France's history and the importance of French multi-level politicians fosters the idea of inequality. The great power wielded by French multi-level politicians helps to maintain their status and makes it extremely difficult for political removal. This strengthens the idea of a blocked society and French inequality, hindering the development of female political leaders. 

The blocked society of France along with its strong central government lead to a system that is slow to react and change. This slow reaction hinders the movement of equality for women. It will be interesting to see how this slow evolution of gender equality will play out in French culture. Will it develop into a gender based cleavage? The importance of a strong central government, ideas of equality, and French political history will all play a large role in the continuing development of France's political culture. Although France boasts of equality, there are still many factors that contradict this idea. It will take major revisions in French political culture before women will gain equal access to French government and the power that it holds.