but what about simone de beauvoir? 40s, her bestselling book, the second sex became a reference book forfeminists around the world. it seemed hard to believe that in the country of simone de beauvoir, the french philosopher who shocked the world with her revolutionary gender theories, things had got so bad. i'm looking at the roots of sexism in france. i admit, so far, i'm confused and i need some help, so i'm going to meet experts on the matter. first stop, michelle perrot, the french voice of authority when it comes to women's history. "mad cow", "crazy", "stupid", "uterus on legs", "who is going to look after the kids?" that is la gauloiserie for you. segolene royal — mp, re—elected four times, regional president, minister three times and candidate for the presidential elections in 2007 knows it well. she never publicly spoke out about what she was going through during her career, but last october she did. in her book, what i can finally tell you, she reveals the tactics used by her male colleagues to undermine her a