Julie Siegfried (born Julie Puaux: 13 February 1848 – 28 May 1922) was a French feminist. She served as president of the Conseil National des femmes françaises (CNFF/ ''literally, "National Council of French Women"'') between 1913 and 1922.

Early life and family

Julie Puaux was born on 13 February 1848 in

Luneray Luneray () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A small town of farming and light industry situated in the Pays de Caux, some southwest of Dieppe at the junction of the D70, the D4 ...

, a small town couple of miles inland from

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, France. Luneray is one of the few places in this part of France to have a significant Protestant population. The Puaux family was Protestant, moderately prosperous and, at a time when the political and social reverberations of the French Revolution were still very much alive,

anti-monarchist Criticism of monarchy has occurred since ancient times. It can be targeted against the general form of government—monarchy—or more specifically, to particular monarchical governments as controlled by hereditary royal families. In some cases, ...

and passionately anti-catholic. François Puaux (1806-1895), Julie's father, was the minister at the (Protestant) Reformed Church in the town Julie's siblings included Frank Puaux (1844-1922), himself a Protestant minister-theologian and a noted historian of Protestantism in France. On 2 February 1869 Julie Puaux married Jules Siegfried (1837-1922) at

Alès Alès () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. Until 1926, i ...

(

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. The couple's son, André Siegfried (1875-1959), would later become known to English speakers for his commentaries on American, Canadian, and British politics.

Career

Siegfried was a feminist. Initially the focus of her energies was on education provision for girls in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, the major port city of which her husband served as the mayor (1870-1873 and 1878-1886). There was an apprenticeship college and, in 1880, a primary school. Then, in 1885, she was involved in setting up one of the first girls' secondary schools (''lycées de fille''). Soon after her husband was elected to the Chambre des députés (''parliament'') in

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

the couple moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, setting up home initially in a centrally positioned apartment at 6 rond-point des Champs-Elyses and moving after ten years, to what became the family home at 226 boulevard Saint-Germain in the city's fashionable

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

district. Julie Siegfried now engaged actively in various feminist organisations and actions. She took part in the conferences at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

that were arranged by

Sarah Monod Sarah Monod (24 June 1836 – 13 December 1912) was a French Protestant philanthropist and feminist. Early years Alexandrine Elisabeth Sarah Monod was born on 24 June 1836 in Lyon. She was the fourth of seven children of the evangelical church ...

and was involved with the journal, "La Femme". She worked with the Union française pour le suffrage des femmes(UFSF / ''"French Union for Women's Suffrage"'') and, most prominently, with the Conseil National des femmes françaises (CNFF/ ''literally, "National Council of French Women"'') of which she served as president between January 1913 and her death in 1922, in succession to

, the CNFF's first president. She became vice-president of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...

, of which the CNFF is the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

branch. She also presided over the "League for Moral Education". But her most important role involved her CNFF work. The CNFF was the largest feminist organisation in France, with 21,000 members in 1900 and almost 100,000 in 1914. Its objectives included the provision of support, hygiene improvements, women's education and work for women. But its strongest advocacy concerned votes for women. In this campaign Julie Siegfried was strongly backed by her husband. Jules Siegfried and her parliamentary colleagues managed to have the necessary motion tabled and positively received in the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) in 1909, but there was no vote: at this stage, and for many more years even after the necessary legislation had been passed by the lower house in 1919, women's suffrage was blocked by the Senate (upper house).Anne-Sarah Bouglé-Moalic, Le vote des Françaises : Cent ans de débats 1848-1944, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2012 1921 Jules and Julie Sigfried

Celebration

In 1919 Julie Siegried was made a

knight of the legion of honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in recognition, formally, of her work as president or founder of welfare support organisations and for war elfarework (''"présidente ou fondatrice d’œuvres d'assistance ou d’œuvres de guerre"'').

Death

Julie Siegfried died on May 28, 1922, predeceasing her husband by less than four months.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegfried, Julie 1848 births 1922 deaths People from Seine-Maritime French Protestants French feminists