French Universalism in the 1990s

hence universalist, principles of democracy. For the parity movement, passage of a law was critical for achieving this end since only a law would provide the conditions within which a resymbolization of the relations between women and men would become possible. As Gaspard put it: Social and political prejudices deduced from differences based on anatomical sex persist in relations of power (to men’s benefit) and are expressed, notably, in politics. In the field of political decision-making it is clear that an implicit “order” of men exists. The conquest of strict equality for women with men in political assemblies—whether national or local—is thus also symbolic. (“De la parite” 42) The route to passage of such a law, however, was not easy. Ironically, not because it was hard to mobilize political opinion (the paritairistes 76 FRENCH UNIVERSALISM IN THE 1990S