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Women’s rights: Odette Roux, one of the first female mayors in France
During the municipal elections of February 1945, women had, for the first time, the right to vote and to be elected. Odette Roux, now deceased, was one of the 19 women elected mayors on this occasion. Portrait of this communist elected at the head of Sables-d’Olonne, in Vendée.
(France 2)
During the municipal elections of February 1945, women had, for the first time, the right to vote and to be elected. Odette Roux, now deceased, was one of the 19 women elected mayors on this occasion. Portrait of this communist elected at the head of Sables-d’Olonne, in Vendée.
The teacher Odette Roux, now deceased, lost her resistance husband in 1943, killed by the Germans. But she had communist convictions and the beautiful energy of youth. Encouraged by the prefect of Vendée, she was elected mayor of Sables-d’Olonne, a town of 18,000 inhabitants, at the age of 26. In February 1945, French women finally had the right to vote and be elected. For this municipal election, only 19 women became mayors.
Odette Roux honored in her city in 2015
How could a communist be elected in such a conservative Vendée? His commitment to the resistance won the votes. “The role of women during the resistance, during the war, was essential. (…) Everywhere we see a man whose name is recognized, there is a woman next to him, and that was a very long time to recognise”, recalls Line Roux, only daughter of Odette Roux. Odette Roux herself was only honored in the city in 2015. The garden she created during her tenure has become the place where she is remembered.
