# First elections with women voting (1945)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1945-first-elections-with-women-voting
Location: France

Women participated in national elections for the first time. 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 Free France / Provisional Government). First elections with women voting is a useful marker in the longer transformation of political authority, society and culture in France. 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
First elections with women voting is a useful marker in the longer transformation of political authority, society and culture in France.

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

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — First elections with women voting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=First+elections+with+women+voting&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — First elections with women voting](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=First+elections+with+women+voting)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)