Elisabeth Borne denounces “insidious sexism” in politics

Two months after her departure from Matignon, Elisabeth Borne spoke again on Friday March 8 on the occasion of Women’s Rights Day. He denounced a “insidious sexism” which persists in a political environment still governed by “masculine codes”.

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“We are not experiencing unbridled sexism as we might have experienced” Edith Cresson, the first woman to head the government of France (from May 1991 to April 1992), “but there remains a form of sexism that is undoubtedly more insidious”declared Elisabeth Borne on RTL. “You are constantly compared to masculine codes, in the way you go, for example, around the Agricultural Show (…). The reference is men”explained the former Prime Minister, often portrayed as distant and rigorous.

“Men in politics, they all have an interest in imposing masculine codes, that eliminates competition”she added, noting that “in the names that have circulated for [la] replace, there were only men’s names, not the name of a single woman”. “As if the commentators were saying : ‘We have just had a woman Prime Minister for 20 months, that’s it! We’re getting back to normal life, so the next one will be a man'”lamented the one who gave way to Gabriel Attal.