Women's Suffrage: Explaining the French Exception

Abstract

Despite its early experiment with male suffrage, France was one of the last countries in Europe to extend the vote to women. Existing accounts of this French exceptionalism argue that members of the Radical party, which controlled the upper house, blocked suffrage extension because they believed women would vote for pro-Church anti-system parties. These accounts focus on opposition to suffrage extension, emphasizing legislators' expected political losses under new electoral rules. In contrast, we examine support for suffrage extension, emphasizing legislators' expected losses absent institutional change. This alternative account does not rely on strong assumptions about women’s perceived pro-Church bias. As this article demonstrates, it better explains differences in voting patterns between the upper and lower houses in the aftermath of World War I, a critical juncture for women’s political rights. It also highlights the link between support for women’s suffrage and support for proportional representation while providing new insights on the relationship between war and suffrage extension.

Victor Gay

Professor of Economics

Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), University of Toulouse 1 Capitole.