BUT WHAT ABOUT WOMEN?

Of the 26 portraits of historical figures used on banknotes, only one woman, Marie Curie, has joined the ranks of Henry IV, Victor Hugo, Jean Racine and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
It was only in 1995 and the issuance of the 500-franc “Pierre and Marie Curie” note that a woman finally entered this celebrated “pantheon”. To this day, she remains the only woman to have received this honour.

Although it took until the end of the 20th century for a woman to be celebrated in this way, it is not entirely true that she was the first female figure ever to feature on a banknote: from the very first denominations, goddesses and allegories were regularly depicted, along with portraits of peasant women and women in traditional Breton and Agen dress. However, no female historical figure had ever been depicted.
In 1995, therefore, with the issuance of the last series of franc notes, designed by computer by the artist Roger Pfund, the Banque of France issued the 1993-type “Pierre and Marie Curie” 500-franc note. Based on the theme of building a new world and designed following a survey of the French public, this highly innovative green and yellow banknote celebrates scientific advances. Incorporating seven security features, it features Pierre and Marie Curie surrounded by symbols linked to their scientific work (radium, atoms and a radiological car called “the little Curie” which was developed by Marie Curie for use on the front lines in the First World War). The reverse shows Pierre and Marie Curie’s chemical laboratory.