Marguerite Durand (24 January 1864 – 16 March 1936) was a French stage actress, journalist, and a leading

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

. She founded her own newspaper, and ran for election. She is also known for having a pet lion. The

Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand The Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand is a specialized public library run by the Paris municipal library system. History Created from a massive collection started in 1897 by journalist and activist Marguerite Durand. It was initially located at th ...

was named in her honour for her contributions to the women's suffrage movement in France.

Early life and acting career

Born into a middle-class family on 24 January 1864, Marguerite Durand was sent to study at a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

convent. After finishing her primary education, she entered the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

before joining the Comédie Française, the oldest active theatre company in the world, in 1881. In 1888, she gave up her career in the theatre to marry an up-and-coming young lawyer, Georges Laguerre.

Politics

A friend and follower of the politically ambitious army general

Georges Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

, her husband introduced her to the world of radical populist politics and involved her in writing pamphlets for the "

Boulangists Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

" movement. However, the marriage was short-lived, and in 1891 the couple separated after which Durand took a job writing for ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', the leading newspaper of the day. In 1896, the paper sent her to cover the ''Congrès Féministe International'' ( International Feminist Congress) ostensibly to write a humorous article. She came away from the event a greatly changed person, so much so that the following year on 9 December 1897 she founded a feminist daily newspaper, '' La Fronde'' to pick up where

Hubertine Auclert Hubertine Auclert (; 10 April 1848 – 4 August 1914) was a leading French feminist and a campaigner for women's suffrage. Early life Born in the Allier '' département'' in the Auvergne area of France into a middle-class family, Hubertine Aucl ...

's ''

La Citoyenne ''La Citoyenne'' (, ''The Citizeness'') was a French feminist newspaper published in Paris from 1881 through 1891 by Hubertine Auclert. It was first published on February 13, 1881, and appeared bi-monthly. The newspaper was a forceful and unrel ...

'' left off. Durand's newspaper, run exclusively by women, advocated for women's rights, including admission to the

Bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

and the . Its editorials demanded that women be allowed to be named to the

Legion of Honor 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 ...

and to participate in parliamentary debates. Later in 1910, this came to include Durand's attempt to organise female candidates to stand for the legislative elections. However, Durand considered

Marie Denizard Marie Eugénie Gabriel Denizard (3 April 187221 May 1959) was a French feminist activist. On 17 January 1913, she was the first woman to stand as a candidate in a French Presidential elections in France, presidential election. Early life Mar ...

's presidential candidacy in 1913 to be an "unfortunate joke" detrimental to the credibility of the feminist movement.«Geste fâcheux», ''Les Nouvelles'', 6 January 1913, p. 1. At the 1900

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in Paris, she organised the Congress For The Rights of Women. As well as establishing a summer residence for female journalists in Pierrefonds in the

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

region, Durand turned to activism for working women, helping to organise several

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Image

Marguerite Durand, consumed by a passion for the equality of women, was an attractive woman of style and elegance who was famous for walking the streets of Paris with her pet lion she named "Tiger." Instrumental in the establishing of the zoological Cimetière des Chiens in the Parisian suburb of

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

where her lion was eventually interred, her activism raised the profile of

feminism in France Feminism in France is the history of feminist thought and movements in France. Feminism in France can be roughly divided into three waves: First-wave feminism from the French Revolution through the Third Republic which was concerned chiefly wi ...

and Europe to an unprecedented level of respectability.

Library

In the course of her life and activism she compiled an enormous collection of papers that she gave to the government in 1931. The following year, the

opened in Paris and still operates as a specialised public library run by the Paris municipal library system, where researchers can work beneath a portrait of Durand.

References

External links