The Euro Settles in, France’s Economy Undergoes a Modernization

In 1791, Olympe de Gouges wrote that a “woman is entitled to mount the scaffold; she must be equally entitled to mount the rostrum.” In 1793, aged forty-five, her only right was to be taken to the scaffold for having stated this. In the land of equality, it was not until April 21, 1944, that women won the right to vote and stand for election. It was not until May 15, 1991, that a woman was appointed Prime Minister, Édith Cresson. The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, was signed on February 7, 1992, in Maastricht. The Treaty marked the formal establishment of a European Union. It also called for the creation of a European System of Central Banks and a European Central Bank, and the introduction of the euro. On September 16, 1992, sterling came under attack. The United Kingdom complied with EMS rules and did not devalue its currency. The Bank of England raised its interest rates and waited for the Bundesbank to lend it marks needed to counter speculation. But the Bundesbank was not forthcoming and sterling was forced out of the EMS. Speculators won, and the European Monetary Union lost sterling forever.