Françaises

Françaises is the feminine plural form of the French adjective and demonym for "French." In French, nationality adjectives and demonyms are gendered: the masculine singular is Français, the feminine singular is Française, and the feminine plural is Françaises. The term Françaises is used to refer to women who are French by nationality or by cultural association, or to French women collectively.

Usage and contexts: Françaises appears in education, journalism, literature, and statistics to denote a group of women from France or who identify with French culture. When the reference includes all genders, the masculine plural Français is used, unless a gender-inclusive form is intentionally chosen. The word may also occur in phrases describing social, political, or cultural experiences specific to French women.

Cultural and linguistic notes: The gendered nature of the term reflects broader patterns in French where adjectives and nouns change form to accord with gender and number. Discussions of gender and language sometimes address whether forms like Françaises should be adapted for inclusivity in official or informal writing.

See also: Français, Française, French demonyms, French language, Gender in language.