Background
She was born into a Jewish middle-class, republican family.
She was born into a Jewish middle-class, republican family.
From the 1920s until her death she was regarded as "the grande dame of the feminist movement" in France. Her familial environment was not inclined to let women study, especially not when they were over 17. The French Union for Women"s Suffrage (UFSF: Union française pour le suffrage des femmes) was founded by a group of feminists who had attended a national congress of French feminists in Paris in 1908, led by Jeanne Schmahl and Jane Misme.
The UFSF provided a less militant and more widely acceptable alternative to the Suffrage des femmes of Hubertine Auclert (1848–1914).
The sole objective was to obtain women"s suffrage through legal approaches. The founding meeting of 300 women was held in February 1909.
Cécile Brunschvicg was made secretary-general. Schmahl was the first president
Eliska Vincent accepted the position of honorary vice-president
The UFSF was formally recognized by the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWFA) congress in London in April 1909 as representing the French suffrage movement. Cécile Brunschvicg was named Undersecretary of State for national education in the first Léon Blum government.
Radical Party, Parti républicain, radical et radical-socialiste.