Combats de femmes, 1914-1918 : les Françaises, pilier de l'effort de guerre

In the fields, factories, and hospitals, Frenchwomen participated en masse in the war effort. They had to manage their daily lives alone and support the morale of the soldiers. Certain women decided to resist blind patriotism by opposing militarism and at war, by denouncing difficult, dangerous, and underpaid work conditions, or by opposing the recruitment of children as “potential soldiers.” The Great War marked a turning point for women’s emancipation in France. However, it was the men who died in the horror of the trenches, and the women felt more or less in debt to them. From the armistice, each took up her place again and women remained excluded from citizenship. In contrast to their Danish, German, Austrian, and English neighbors, they would have to wait almost thirty years to access the right to vote… [translated and modified from author]