Exhibition 'Femmes au combat' highlights French women soldiers from WWI to today
The exhibition 'Femmes au combat dans les conflits contemporains' at Paris's Jardin Eugénie-Djendi traces women's military service from World War I to the present, using 20 photographs from the ECPAD archives. It honors figures like Eugénie Djendi, a volunteer executed at Ravensbrück in 1945. Curators Caroline François and Constance Lemans-Louvert show how women were largely excluded after both world wars, despite serving as nurses and mechanics. The Indochina War marked a shift, with women closer to combat; 200 died between 1946 and 1954. A 1970s law granted equal rank access, but quotas persisted until 1997. Today, women make up 17% of French forces (34,700 out of 200,000), but only 6% in overseas operations and 9.3% of generals. The exhibition also notes ongoing issues like sexual violence, prompting a 2024 ministry inspection. Sergeant-chef Philippine, a military photographer featured in the show, states: 'There are no women, no men in the army, only soldiers.'
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Femmes au combat dans les conflits contemporains' at Jardin Eugénie-Djendi, Paris
- Organized by Établissement de communication et de production audiovisuelle de la Défense (ECPAD)
- 20 photographs from ECPAD archives covering WWI to present
- Eugénie Djendi, born in Bône (Annaba), Algeria, executed at Ravensbrück in January 1945
- Women served as nurses and mechanics in WWI but were demobilized after
- 700 women in Free French Forces by November 1940; 25,000 in auxiliary corps during WWII
- 200 women died in Indochina War (1946-1954), 5-10% of female personnel
- 1970s law established equal rank access; quotas ended in 1997
- Women now 17% of French military (34,700 out of 200,000)
- Only 6% of overseas operations personnel are women; 9.3% of generals
- 2024 ministry inspection launched on sexual violence after #MeToo allegations
- Sergeant-chef Philippine featured in exhibition; she rejects term 'female soldier'
Entities
Artists
- Eugénie Djendi
- Thomas Fontaine
- Caroline François
- Constance Lemans-Louvert
- Monique Legrand-Larroche
- Anita Gaillon
- Laurence Briançon
- Yvonne Huynh
- Fany Claudin
- Philippine (sergent-chef)
- Maurice Boulay
- Raoul Coutard
- François-Xavier Roch
- Olivier Le Comte
- Rouslan Maskouta
- Lumir Lugué
Institutions
- Établissement de communication et de production audiovisuelle de la Défense (ECPAD)
- Mémorial des femmes en résistance et en déportation
- Hauts lieux de la mémoire nationale en Île-de-France
- Croix-Rouge
- Marine Nationale
- France 24
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Jardin Eugénie-Djendi
- XV e arrondissement de Paris
- Bône
- Annaba
- Algérie
- Alger
- Angleterre
- Ravensbrück
- Marne
- Meuse
- Bar-le-Duc
- Indochine
- Hauts Plateaux d'Annam
- Vietnam
- Extrême-Orient
- Liban
- Beyrouth
- Kosovo
- Mali
- Ex-Yougoslavie
- Égypte
- Gourma malien
- Niger
- Afghanistan
- Roumanie