Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

GALLERY - GREAT FRENCH WOMEN

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

Five great French women who France forgot

Of more than 70 French historical figures honoured with burial in the Pantheon in Paris, only two are women. As authorities prepare to pick the next, feminists are waging a campaign to have the remains of five great French women moved to the famous mausoleum.

Published: 28 August 2013 14:19 CEST

Five great French women who France forgot

Marianne, a symbol of the French Revolution, in "Liberty Leading the People," by Eugène Delacroix.

For the first time, the French public will have their say in who gets the honour of being interred in the Pantheon mausoleum in Paris, the finally resting place of greats like Voltaire and Victor Hugo.

The results of an online poll, that opens next Monday, will be taken into account when the next name is recommended to President François Hollande at the end of September.

However, feminists from the 'Osez le feminisme' and 'La Barbe' groups have protested the tradition, pointing out that in 222 years, only two of the 70 plus luminaries buried in the Pantheon have been women.

One was celebrated scientist Marie Curie, but the other was Sophie Berthelot, who was only interred in the mausoleum out of respect for her husband Marcellin, who died in 1907.

Through protests outside the Pantheon this week, a Facebook group, and an online petition, the activists are hoping to convince Hollande that he should end "the erasing of women from history" and transfer the remains of several women to the Pantheon this year.

To make the choice as easy as possible, the groups have put forward what they regard as the five most "Pantheonisable" women in French history. Click below to see who they are.

GALLERY: FIVE GREAT FRENCH WOMEN THAT FRANCE FORGOT

Who has been left out? Who would you include, and why? Join the debate in the comments section below.

Don't miss out on controversies like this – join The Local France on Facebook and Twitter.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Danish PM sees 'no need to restore relations' with France and Germany over spying

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made her comments at the closing debate of parliament. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

In her first remarks on the subject since the revelations emerged on Sunday, Mette Frederiksen refused to address the claims directly.

But as a general rule, “there should not be any systematic surveillance of allies”, she told reporters.

In an investigative report on Sunday, Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) and other European media outlets said the US National Security Agency (NSA) had eavesdropped on Danish underwater internet cables from 2012 to 2014.

They spied on top politicians in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Reports of allies spying on each other have surfaced ever since the Snowden affair in 2013, and after these latest revelations Paris, Berlin and other European capitals on Monday demanded answers from Denmark.

READ ALSO:

Frederiksen played down the damage done to Denmark’s relations with its allies.

“We have a good dialogue,” she said. “I don’t think it’s correct to say that there’s a need to repair relations with France or Germany. We have an ongoing dialogue, which includes the field of intelligence,” she said.

According to DR, the NSA got access to text messages, telephone calls and internet traffic including searches, chats and messaging services — including those of Germany’s Merkel, then-foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then-opposition leader Peer Steinbruck.

It remains unclear whether Denmark knew at the time that the US was using the cables to spy on Denmark’s neighbours. Washington has yet to comment publicly on the matter.

DR’s revelations are based on a classified, internal report written by a working group at Denmark’s military intelligence unit FE.

The report, submitted to FE management in May 2015, was commissioned by FE after the Snowden affair came to light — which suggests Denmark may not have been aware the US was using its cables to spy on its neighbours.

Five years later, in August 2020, several top FE directors were removed from their posts, a move DR said was linked to the US spying.

Url copied to clipboard!