From the Blue Stockings to Salles Connes: The Journey of French Feminism and The Organisations Fighting For Equality Today

France prides itself on égalité, liberté, fraternité, yet more than two centuries after the Revolution, women are still fighting to claim those promises. In the View 16, Amelie Baker’s deep‑dive feature From the Blue Stockings to Salles Connes traces the powerful, complicated, and often contradictory journey of French feminism, revealing how centuries‑old stereotypes continue to shape the movement today.

From the 18th‑century caricatures of the Blue Stockings (le Bas Bleu) to the modern‑day backlash sparked by Brigitte Macron’s “salles connes” remark, the article uncovers a persistent cultural tension: France celebrates femininity, yet resists feminism. Professor Rachel Mesch explains how this legacy of “gender privilege” – the elevation of strict gender difference as a national value – has long undermined solidarity and slowed progress, from delayed suffrage to today’s battles over sexual‑violence reform.

But the story is not only one of resistance. Across France, organisations such as Osez le Féminisme and La Fondation des Femmes are driving a new wave of mobilisation. In 2024, more than 150 groups united to push forward the Loi Cadre Intégrale contre les violences sexuelles, a landmark proposal aiming to overhaul prevention, justice, and victim protection. Their message is clear: equality is far from achieved, and the system of impunity must end.

This feature explores how history, politics, and activism collide in modern France, and why the feminist movement is finally gaining unprecedented unity and momentum.

Read the full story in View 16 to understand why, at last, shame is changing sides.

Order the View 16 here: https://theviewmag.org.uk/product/the-view-magazine-issue-16-winter-2025-digital-edition/ 

Image source: Medium