The City of Paris Hacks the French National Motto to Show that for Women, Equality Comes with Terms and Conditions

Apr. 01, 2026

For 200 years, France has lived by the motto: LIBERTE, EGALITE, FRATERNITE.  It is engraved on monuments, statues, city halls, and schools. But for women, equality comes with an asterisk. Because from the day they are born, women are made to accept a long list of terms and conditions without ever agreeing to them. Conditions like being paid less than a man for the same job. Being seen as less capable in math and science. Having their symptoms dismissed by medical professionals. Never feeling fully safe walking alone at night. And many, many more.

In France, there is no true Egalite. Only Egalite. And the campaign Terms and Conditions of Being a Girl aims to make what’s right in front of everyone’s eyes impossible to ignore.

Mercedes Erra, President and Founder of BETC said:

"Many people claim that gender equality has already been achieved, that there are no longer any problems in France. Today, we want to remind everyone that this is simply not true. We are still far from real equality, and the list of social conditions that limit women’s lives is still incredibly long."

 

The campaign took over the city with an OOH initiative revealing the long list of terms and conditions women are forced to accept throughout their lives. And on March 8th, the lights of Paris's most iconic landmark - the Eiffel Tower - went dark to display the updated French motto: Liberte. Egalite. Fraternite. 

The stunt was announced in a video to the nation by Paris’s first female mayor, Anne Hidalgo. She declared her fight to make equality equal - starting with adding the names of 72 female scientists to the Eiffel Tower, alongside the 72 men already carved into its base - finally giving the same visibility to the women who helped shape the history of this country.

Women across France and beyond were invited by the Mayor to adopt the asterisk as a symbol of the movement, adding it to their names on social media, wearing it as a pin, and reclaiming it as a mark of resistance. 

And the asterisk will stay, until we make equality equal.