France makes progress on women’s political representation
[Brussels, 18 June 2012] On Sunday 17 June, France elected 155 women to the National Assembly, increasing women’s representation from 18 to 26%. France moves from 19th to 9th place in the EU in terms of political representation of women. However, despite existing constitutional and legal requirements, France is still far from parity, with men taking 422 of the 577 seats.
The Socialist party provided the largest number of women representatives, with 104 female deputees among the 280 elected under its banner. The conservative opposition UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) will face stiff fines for its dismal performance of only 17 women out of 188 elected deputees. The greens have the most egalitarian record, with half of their 18 representatives being women.
