France has never really claimed leadership on gender equality issues – Frenchwomen were not given the vote until 1944 – but at least women can now wear trousers in the capital city. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the minister for women's rights, has finally repealed the archaic law that banned women in Paris from wearing trousers, 213 years after it was introduced. The law, little upheld, required "any woman wishing to dress in men's clothing to obtain authorisation from the préfecture de police".
In a statement, Vallaud-Belkacem wrote: "This ordinance is incompatible with the principles of equality between women and men, which are listed in the Constitution, and in France's European commitments."
The law, which allowed women to wear trousers only while holding the reins of a horse or the handlebars of a bike, were introduced when the wearing of long trousers by the working class became a symbol of the French revolution. A campaign launched by 10 French MPs in 2010 was the last of many aimed at repeal, but was not deemed a government priority according to the French English language newspaper Connexion.
Perhaps now France will overturn a recent history that sees it dropping down equality league tables to show who is really wearing the trousers.
