# Women gain the right to vote (1944)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1944-women-gain-the-right-to-vote
Location: France

An ordinance enfranchised French women, who first voted in 1945. Within the broader Occupation, Liberation & Fourth Republic period, Defeat in 1940 divided France between Vichy, occupation and resistance. Liberation restored republican government, followed by reconstruction, welfare-state building, European integration and violent decolonization under the Fourth Republic. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Charles de Gaulle (Leader of the Provisional Government). Women gain the right to vote mattered because it changed the legal or constitutional framework within which French institutions and citizens operated. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Women gain the right to vote mattered because it changed the legal or constitutional framework within which French institutions and citizens operated.

Ruler at the time: [Charles de Gaulle](https://history-france.com/rulers/charles-de-gaulle-1940)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Women gain the right to vote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Women+gain+the+right+to+vote&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Women gain the right to vote](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Women+gain+the+right+to+vote)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)