Women MPs condemn 'macho' parliament
Campaign against sexist remarks by MPs is part of bigger backlash against 'macho' behaviour following DSK allegations
WOMEN MPs have launched a campaign against what they describe as sexist behaviour and "a macho atmosphere" in the French National Assembly.
Several female politicians have spoken publicly about the behaviour of their male colleagues in parliament. The issue of sexism in France has intensfied in recent weeks following the claims of sexual harassment by Dominique Strauss-Kahn and former minister Georges Tron.
Sports minister Chantal Jouanno (pictured) claimed last week that she now avoided wearing skirts in parliament because she had overheard inappropriate comments from male MPs.
Bouches-du-Rhône MP Valérie Boyer and Ardennes MP Bérengère Poletti held an evening function in the National Assembly last night where women MPs shared their experiences of sexism.
National Assembly president Bernard Accoyer insists there is not a problem and that the behaviour in the house is "no different from all other sectors of society".
Other MPs have condemned the campaign. Hérault MP Jean-Pierre Grand said: "The women who started this demonstration should be ashamed of themselves. It's unacceptable, it brings parliament down to a lower level."
Bernard Debré, an MP for Paris, said: "The National Assembly should not be used for this sort of operation."
Out of France's 576 MPs, 113 are women - about 18%. Poitou-Charentes president Ségolène Royal has called for parity. Others say France should be inspired by the European parliament, where 40% of MEPs are women.
The complaints of sexism have grown in recent weeks following the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual harassment claims. Some MPs and leading French thinkers have been condemned for being too quick to defend Strauss-Kahn and for belittling the issue of violence towards women.
More than 3,000 people joined a demonstration in Paris last month against the "chauvinist remarks" made in interviews.
Meanwhile, a Socialist MP is facing a possible fine or the temporary withdrawal of his expenses allowance after he appeared to stick his middle finger up to the prime minister during a debate on taxation.
National Assembly authorities are reviewing a video in which Henri Emmanuelli appears to make the gesture towards François Fillon after he said that Germany had a better tax policy than France.
"I did not put my finger up and if it has been interpreted that way, I am sorry," Emmanuelli later said.
