Olympe Démarez

Olympe Démarez (27 January 1878 – 5 September 1964) was the first French female lawyer in the French Nord department and the first woman to be elected to the city council of Dunkirk.

Biography Born in Catillon-sur-Sambre (Nord Department), Démarez had a very modest background, coming from a family of textile workers living in a hamlet. She obtained her first diploma from the hamlet's own primary school in August 1890. Démarez temporarily quit school to become a textile worker, but later was able to continue her education.

In 1898, at the age of 20, Démarez graduated school and became a teacher. She began work 180 kilometers away from her birthplace, which was somewhat unusual for her time and place due to the difficulty of travel. Démarez taught first in Petit-Fort-Philippe (Graveline's hamlet) from 1898 to 1901 and then in Dunkirk from 1902 to 1908.

In 1913, after obtaining her associate degree in law, Démarez obtained her bachelor's degree from law school.

Charles Valentin, then the mayor of Dunkirk, became Démarez’s lover. Despite their unusual cohabitation lifestyle, the couple was well respected. On 20 September 1939, however, Valentin was victim of a serious traffic accident in the Lille suburbs. Despite the care of Oscar Lambret, a prominent Lille surgeon, his condition worsened. Démarez then asked the deputy mayor of Lille, Charles Saint-Venant, to marry them. Valentin died shortly after the ceremony.

During WWII, Démarez returned to her hometown to care for Jewish refugee children from Nazi Germany. This was due to the ongoing First World War, which put applications to the bar association on hold. Only after the end of hostilities, on 17 November 1920, was a new female applicant, Adrienne Gobert, admitted to the bar. However, Gobert never exercised the profession.

Démarez eventually put her law career aside to help a friend’s political campaign. She later worked at the town hall reorganizing the archives.