Monique Pelletier, a pioneering figure in women's rights in France, died on October 19, 2025, at the age of 99. A former minister delegated to Women's Rights under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, she played a key role in criminalizing rape and perpetuating the Veil law on abortion. Her death was announced by the Ministry for Equality between Women and Men.
Monique Pelletier, a lawyer at the Paris bar and mother of seven children, left a lasting mark on women's rights in France. Appointed minister delegated to Women's Rights from 1978 to 1979, then to Women's Rights and Families from 1979 to 1981 in Raymond Barre's governments under President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, she worked to make rape a crime – it was previously just a misdemeanor – and to make the Veil law on voluntary interruption of pregnancy permanent, initially limited to five years.
In 2000, Jacques Chirac appointed her to the Constitutional Council, where she served until 2004 replacing Roland Dumas, becoming the third woman to join after Simone Veil and Noëlle Lenoir. She also served as Secretary of State for Justice and as Giscard's spokesperson during his 1981 campaign. In an anecdote reported by LCP, she recalled accompanying Giscard to television appearances: «I accompanied him to television for his official appearances. In the car, I generally asked him what he was going to talk about. And he would reply indifferently: 'I don't know yet.'»
Committed until the end, she signed a 2016 op-ed against impunity for sexual harassment, revealing an assault by a senator 37 years earlier. On X (formerly Twitter), she denounced nursing home scandals and the plight of battered women. In 2019, in Le Point, she stated: «There is still much progress to be made and progress to preserve regarding women's rights. Many women remain ignorant of their rights or are still insufficiently sought for their qualities».
Aurore Bergé, the current Minister for Equality, reacted: «France loses a great voice for women's rights, for their dignity, for equality. Her commitment opened major conquests and leaves an immense legacy». The Constitutional Council paid tribute to «the memory of a free woman, a great jurist, and an exemplary republican», adding: «A woman of commitment and conviction, she devoted her life to serving the Republic, justice, and equality».