Should we say “the” or “the” minister to speak of a woman? For Barbara Pompili, it is obvious that the first proposal wins. Only everyone in the Assembly doesn’t seem to want to use this grammatical rule. During a heated debate on wind turbines Thursday, MP LR Julien Aubert, rapporteur for a bill, referred to Barbara Pompili as “Madam Minister”. Julien Aubert has a habit of not feminizing the functions of each other.
In 2014, he was sanctioned for persisting in calling “Madam President” a chairperson.
This habit is not really to the taste of the Minister for the Ecological Transition who did not fail to let it be known. “I ask very clearly to be called Madam Minister, and if the MP does not respect this, he will be called Mister Rapporteur,” she said.
The feminization of the roles of women adopted in the Assembly since 1998
The session president Annie Genevard (LR) flew to the aid of her fellow deputy, arguing that the formula “Madam Minister” was “in accordance with the usage validated by the French Academy”, unlike “Mr. “, Which in her opinion constitutes a” provocation “.
Return of the ball: the deputy Caroline Fiat (LFI) recalled that the Assembly had opted in 1998 for a “feminization of the roles of women: Madam Minister, the president, the deputy (r (” and deplored the “behavior” by Julien Aubert, and Mathilde Panot (LFI), too, to speak out against the “irresponsible sexism” of certain elected officials.
“Some men tried not to let me speak”
In the aftermath of this altercation, the Minister for the Ecological Transition declared on Europe 1 that there was “still work” to advance gender equality. “I saw him again yesterday in the National Assembly, some men, because they did not agree, tried not to let me speak”.
There are no small fights against sexism. It is disrespectful for a member to absolutely want to call me Madam Minister against my will. The feminization of the names of functions and professions should no longer even be a debate.#madameLAminister pic.twitter.com/Q6E4aMI0S8
– Barbara Pompili (@barbarapompili) October 8, 2021
Other vigorous discussions animated this session Thursday on the development of wind turbines, which many right-wing elected officials want to slow down. Ms. Genevard thus sharply challenged the minister after a long speech: “you are endowed with a vocal organ, my faith, superior to many others, it is not a reason to use and abuse it”.
Frequently taken to task on the benches of the right, Barbara Pompili responded by ironing: “I will not make any remark about people who want to use their organs, and who sometimes have ambitions that go beyond their possibilities, that might happen “. And to conclude the incident: “I will try to remain serious”, because with the wind turbines “we are on a serious subject”.