Monique Pelletier (politician)

Monique Pelletier
Member of the Constitutional Council
In office
28 March 2000 – 8 March 2004
Appointed byJacques Chirac
Preceded byRoland Dumas
Succeeded byPierre Steinmetz
Minister Responsible for Women's Rights
In office
12 September 1978 – 4 March 1981
Preceded byFrançoise Giroud
Succeeded byYvette Roudy
Personal details
BornMonique Denyse Bédier
(1926-07-25)25 July 1926
Trouville-sur-Mer, France
Died19 October 2025(2025-10-19) (aged 99)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
PartyUDF
EducationLycée Racine
OccupationJudge

Monique Pelletier (French: [mɔnik pɛltje]; 25 July 1926 – 19 October 2025) was a French judge and politician of the Union for French Democracy (UDF).[1] She was a part of a generation of women in French politics in the later twentieth century, and advocated for women's rights throughout her career. She served on the Constitutional Council for four years, and was the third woman to serve on the council.

Life and career

Born in Trouville-sur-Mer in Normandy on 25 July 1926, Pelletier studied at the Lycée Racine in Paris.[2] She earned her law license and was admitted to the Paris Bar at the age of 19.[3] From 1948 to 1960, she was an assessor in Seine, then in Nanterre from 1966 to 1975.[4] From 1969 to 1974, she headed the women's committee for the Centre Democracy and Progress.[5] In 1971, she was elected to the municipal council of Neuilly-sur-Seine and became deputy mayor in 1977.[3] That year, she was tasked by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to draft a report on the drug problem in France, in which she urged the government to provide more support for drug addicts.[6]

In 1978, Pelletier was named secretary of state to Minister of Justice Alain Peyrefitte. That September, she was named Minister Responsible for Women's Rights, succeeding Françoise Giroud.[7] She endorsed the renewal of the Veil Act, which legalized abortion, in 1979[6] and the criminalization of rape in 1980.[8] In January 1979, she had the Council of Ministers adopt "five measures in favor of women" to experiment with quotas for women on lists of candidates for elections.[9] The proposal was passed by the National Assembly, but failed in the Senate due to a lack of support.[10]

Alongside Françoise Giroud and Simone Veil, Pelletier was a key player among the new generation of women in French politics.[6] She joined the UDF upon its formation in 1978,[11] opposing the Republican Party figures such as Alain Madelin, François Léotard, and Charles Millon.[12] During the 1981 presidential election, she campaigned for incumbent Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and was a spokeswoman his committees.[13] After Giscard's defeat in the election and her defeat in the following legislative election, she returned to private practice with Ngo Cohen Amir-Aslani.[7]

On 22 March 2000, Pelletier was nominated to the Constitutional Council by President Jacques Chirac, replacing Roland Dumas.[14] The third woman to ever serve on the Council, she was succeeded by Pierre Steinmetz on 8 March 2004.[15] After her retirement, she became involved in the rights of disabled people following a stroke suffered by her husband.[16] In 2016, it was revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by a member of the Senate in 1979, who forcibly kissed her at the end of an interview.[17]

Pelletier died at Neuilly-sur-Seine on 19 October 2025, at the age of 99.[18][19]

Publications

  • Le Droit dans ma vie (1973)[20]
  • Mission d'études sur l'ensemble des problèmes de la drogue (Report, 1978)[20]
  • Nous sommes toutes responsables (1981)[20]
  • La Ligne brisée (1995)[20]
  • Le Soleil peut attendre (2011)[21]
  • Souvenirs irrespectueux d'une femme libre (2017)[22]

Decorations

References

  1. ^ Cordier, Solène (19 October 2025). "Monique Pelletier, ancienne ministre et militante des droits des femmes, est morte". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  2. ^ Pelletier, Monique (2017). Souvenirs irrespectueux d'une femme libre (in French). Éditions Pc.
  3. ^ a b Helfz-Malz, Véronique (1996). Encyclopédie des femmes politiques sous la Ve République (in French). Paris: Patrick Banon. ISBN 978-2841920167. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Mme Pelletier devient ministre de la condition féminine. Deux nouveaux secrétaires d'État". Le Monde (in French). 13 September 1978. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  5. ^ "La longue patience de Monique Pelletier". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). 23 July 1979.
  6. ^ a b c Costemalle, Olivier (5 November 2011). "Mémoires. L'avocate des causes ardues". Libération (in French). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Monique Pelletier". Ngo Cohen Amir-Aslani & Associés (in French). Archived from the original on 29 June 2013.
  8. ^ Guyard, Bertrand (22 December 2011). "Monique Pelletier combat le handicap". TV Magazine (in French). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  9. ^ L'instruction civique pour les Nuls (in French). First éditions. 2010.
  10. ^ Bereni, Laure (2007). "Du MLF au Mouvement pour la parité". Politix (in French). Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  11. ^ "L'U.D.F. veut aller " avec le président de la République à la rencontre de la France "". Le Monde (in French). 10 July 1978. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  12. ^ Raffarin, Jean-Pierre (2012). Je marcherai toujours à l'affectif (in French). Flammarion.
  13. ^ Cotta, Michèle (2008). Cahiers secrets de la Ve République, tome 2 (1977–1988) (in French). Fayard.
  14. ^ "Monique Pelletier remplace Dumas au Conseil constitutionnel". Libération (in French). 23 March 2000. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  15. ^ Printemps, Corinne (15 December 2017). "Normandie. L'ex-ministre de la Famille livre ses mémoires". Ouest-France (in French). Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  16. ^ Coffin, Alice (14 November 2011). "Handicap: «Il y a une relative indifférence des pouvoirs publics»". 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  17. ^ Baldit, Etienne (10 May 2016). "Harcèlement sexuel : l'ancienne ministre Monique Pelletier raconte avoir été "agressée par un sénateur" en 1979". Europe 1 (in French). Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  18. ^ "Mort de Monique Pelletier, ancienne ministre à la Condition féminine de Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". Libération. 19 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Décès de Monique Pelletier, ancienne membre du Conseil constitutionnel". Constitutional Council (in French). 19 October 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d "Monique Pelletier". Constitutional Council (in French). Archived from the original on 26 March 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  21. ^ Pelletier, Monique (2011). Le Soleil peut attendre. A. Carrière. ISBN 9782843376283. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  22. ^ Pelletier, Monique (2017). Souvenirs irrespectueux d'une femme libre. Éditions PC. ISBN 9791090148895. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  23. ^ "Décret du 14 mai 2010 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  24. ^ "Décret du 12 juillet 2017 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
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