“…2 The expectations were such that the combination of these legal obligation and financial incentives would lead the parties to nominate more female candidates, and the number of female politicians in France would increase. (For a full description of parity reform in France, see Gaspard, 1998Gaspard, , 2001Baudino, 2000Baudino, , 2005Mazur Amy, 2001Sineau, 2001;Murray, 2004;Scott, 2005;Opello, 2006. ) This gender parity law was first implemented in the municipal elections of March 2001, which resulted in the proportion of women town councilors rising from 25.7 per cent to 47.5 per cent in municipalities with more than 3500 residents (Bird, 2002).…”