Léonie La Fontaine [SEP] sex or gender
law or regulation explicitly prevented the admission of women to the bar. Her appeals to the court of appeal and the Court of Cassation were unsuccessful, but widely reported in the Belgian and foreign press. 
The "Popelin affair" () was a trigger for the feminist struggle in Belgium, and brought together supporters of female education and women's rights in Belgium like Léonie La Fontaine, Henri La Fontaine, , Isala Van Diest, Louis Franck, and Marie Popelin. The movement resulted in the creation of the Belgian League
League for Peace and Freedom.
Hommage.
The "Women’s University" ("Université des Femmes"), French association for the promotion of gender studies in Belgium named its library "Bibliothèque Léonie La Fontaine".
Bibliography.
- Stéphanie Manfroid, Léonie La Fontaine (1857–1949): une femme dans l'aventure documentaire, dans "AIDA informazioni, Associazione Italiana Documentazione Avanzata", n° 1/2003, Roma, p. 39–45.
- Eliane Gubin, Leen Van Molle, "Femmes et politique en