Women in the French Senate
# Women in the French Senate

This article is to share the history and details of women in the French Senate.

## History

Women have been able to serve in political office in France since 1944. In 1997, only 5.9% of senators were women. In 2015, 25% of senators were women.

In mid-1999, an amendment was added to the French Constitution mandating gender parity in electoral candidates for senators.

General de Gualle declared in June 23, 1942 that "all men and women will elect the National Assembly". Marthe Simard and Lucie Aubrac were appointed members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly of Algiers:. From 1944-1945, 16 women sat as delegates to this assembly Lucie Aubrac, Madeleine Braun, Gilberte Brossolette, Marie Couette, Claire Davinroy, Andrée Defferre-Aboulker [fr], Alice Delaunay [fr], Martha Desrumaux [fr], Annie Hervé [fr], Marie-Hélène Lefaucheux, Mathilde Gabriel-Péri, Pauline Ramart, Marthe Simard, Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, Marianne Verger [fr], and Andrée Viénot.

In 1946, 6.69% of senators were women, and the percentage decreased until only 1.4% in 1971. As a result of the law of parity, in 2021 women made up a third of the senators.

Women senators since 1946 :

| Election | Number of women | Total number of senators | Percentage |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1946 | 21 | 314 | 6.7% |
| 1971 | 4 | 283 | 1.4% |
| 2001 | 35 | 321 | 10.9% |
| 2004 | 60 | 331 | 18.1% |
| 2008 | 75 | 343 | 21.9% |
| 2011 | 77 | 348 | 22.1% |
| 2014 | 87 | 348 | 25.0% |
| 2017 | 115 | 348 | 31.8% |
| 2020 | 121 | 348 | 34.8% |

## List of prominent female senators

| Name | Term | Region | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| Marthe Simard | | | Resistance Representative |
| Lucie Aubrac | 1944 | | Resistance Representative |
| Jane Vialle | 1947–1948 | Ubangui-Chari | APEAN; Association for Evolution of Black Africa |
| Éugénie Éboué | 1946–1948 | Guadeloupe | Socialist Party, RFP |
| Jacqueline Alduy | 1982–1983 | Pyrénées-Orientales | Not Affiliated |
| Viviane Artigalas | 2017– | Hautes-Pyrénées | Socialist Party |

## Parliamentary group leaders

| Years | Senator | Group |
| - | - | - |
| 1975-1978 | Marie-Thérèse Goutmann | Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist group |
| 1979-2001 | Hélène Luc | Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist group |
| 2001-2012 | Nicole Borvo Cohen-Seat | Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist group |
| 2012- | Éliane Assassi | Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist group |
| 2015-2016 | Corinne Bouchoux | Ecologist group |
