Since time immemorial, war had always been the preserve of men. During the Second World War, only a handful of women were able to participate in the armed conflict. Some, like Jeanne Bohec, were parachuted onto the coast of Normandy to form teams of saboteurs. Others did their part by cutting telephone cables, particularly during the Battle of Britain, or by monitoring enemy movements, transporting weapons, and organising housewives to rally in protest against rationing. Blanche Paugam was arrested for sabotaging telephone lines in her home town, and became the first French woman to be sentenced to death for an act of resistance. The Germans were uneasy about carrying out the sentence, though, and she was moved from camp to camp before eventually dying of exhaustion from forced labour. At the time, women were second-class citizens; in many countries they did not have the right to vote, and could not work or open a bank account without their husbands’ consent. Certain governments were determined to see their role in society limited to that of mothers and housewives, and these restrictions on their liberty were part of the motivation that drove many women to take up the fight in the 1940s.
Now the war was over, and France had been liberated. When the fairground came to town, the women of Calvados flocked to celebrate together and bask in the warmth of hard-earned freedom. The stands were beautifully decorated, the prize shelves stacked with dolls and coloured teddies. The music rang out in the wind and the scent of candied applies mingled with lollipops and sugar crepes. Children enjoyed pony rides or waited their turn to board the carousel. Time was precious; the fairground would only be in Normandy for a few more days. The children queued for candy floss, carrying off huge fluffy clouds pink as the late afternoon sky. Further on, a juggler was showing off his talent with eight balls in the air. He caught them all in one hand, then began to juggle again as the crowd gasped at his skill, applauding and crying “Bravo!” A giant on stilts walked by, blowing into a soap wand and sending huge bubbles floating through the air, to the delight of the people of Calvados. There was a contortionist, too, performing mind-bending acrobatics. He did the splits, then a somersault. There was so much to see, and the visitors ambled contentedly through the fair. Further off, a gathered crowd gasped and cooed at the bravado of a tightrope walker, whose slim, wiry frame was stepping carefully across a rope suspended some fifteen metres above the ground.
Finally, there was the stand where the women could flex their fighting muscles. The war was over, but the desire to resist the enemy remained anchored in their minds. The empty glass bottles served as targets. The two resistance fighters recharged their rifles with casual skill, and took aim. One bottle shattered, then another. The men passing by were impressed; women who could shoot like that had obviously seen action with the Resistance, and their courage in helping to liberate the Normandy coast from the Nazi enemy was greatly revered. The résistantes set down their rifles, and reloaded. They took aim and fired a volley, for victory and for France!
Alan Alfredo Geday