France says au revoir to ‘discriminatory’ term Mademoiselle

Prime minister François Fillon said the word – the equivalent of “Miss” – discriminates against women by asking them to reveal their marital status.

He has also banned the phrase “nom de jeune fille” – meaning “maiden name” – from all paperwork because it is “archaic” and has “connotations of virginity”.

The major victory for French feminists was issued in an official decree to ministries and regional authorities yesterday.

From now on, “Mademoiselle” should be replaced with “Madame”, the female equivalent of “Monsieur”, because it does not indicate marital status, the decree said. “Maiden name” must be swapped for “family name” or “name of usage”, Mr Fillon’s order said.

The move was praised by feminist campaign groups Osez le Feminisme and Les Chiennes de Garde, which said it put women on an equal footing to men.

Dare Feminism spokeswoman Julie Muret said: “Contrary to popular belief, it is not flattering to tell a woman she’s available, particularly in a professional context. ‘Mademoiselle’ harks back to the term ‘oiselle’, which means ‘virgin’ or ‘simpleton’.”

The equivalent for men, “Damoiseau” – meaning “squire” – was abolished decades ago, Ms Muret said, as it was old-fashioned.

She said: “Men are never asked if they are married if they wanted to get a credit card or a mobile phone or pay their taxes.”

In Britain and the United States, the term “Ms” is often used; in Portugal, Denmark and Germany only the “Madame” form is used, and in Quebec it is seen as rude to use the term “Mademoiselle”, she said.

Still, proponents of the change said they were wary about the motives for making it now.

Ms Muret said: “We’re not stupid, we know we are in an election campaign season. So we will be vigilant to see it is applied.”

Candidates for the presidential election are now being lobbied to sign on to other pledges, including reducing the pay gap between men and women, supporting the right to abortion and birth control, and limiting sexist advertising.

The nationwide changes come after two towns, in Britanny and Normandy, banned the term “Mademoiselle” two months ago after pressure from a local women’s groups.

Solidarity and social cohesion minister Roselyne Bachelot had been demanding an end to “discriminatory” titles since last year.

Ms Bachelot said: “It is an invasion of privacy to ask a woman to identify herself as single or married. We don’t ask men to do the same thing. All we want is complete equality on how we treat the sexes on official government forms.”