French women went to the polls for the first time ever. With the war in France over and Germany nearing capitulation, General de Gaulle gave the vote to women in the municipal elections in 1945.
Before the war the Senate had twice refused to pass bills to increase the suffrage to women.
A contemporary newsreel reporter asked a leading suffragette if women were "interested in having the vote". With the look and tone of disdain that only a middle class Frenchwoman can muster she replied "stupid boy" - or words to that effect.
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