Nantes, a city of 700,000 along the Loire River in western France, looks much like any other European city at first glance: bike lanes, markets, historic squares. But walk closer and you'll notice something deliberate in the details. Streets now bear the names of Joséphine Baker, Frida Kahlo, and Clémence Lefeuvre—a local figure who created beurre blanc sauce. School playgrounds have been redesigned. Breastfeeding stations sit in the city center. Tampon dispensers line library and gym walls.
These aren't scattered gestures. They're part of a systematic effort by mayor Johanna Rolland to build what she calls a "ville non-sexiste"—a non-sexist city. Since taking office in 2014, Rolland's administration has treated gender inequality like any other urban problem: measure it, then fix it.
The Numbers Behind the Change
When the city first looked at the data, the gap was stark. Only 4% of Nantes' 3,000 streets were named after women, while over 36% honored men. That asymmetry—invisible until you count it—became the starting point. The city launched an open call for women's names to add to streets and public spaces. The response brought 188 new names, nearly tripling female representation on the map.
We're a new kind of news feed.
Regular news is designed to drain you. We're a non-profit built to restore you. Every story we publish is scored for impact, progress, and hope.
Start Your News Detox"It's about sending a message," says Sarah Caquineau, the city's head of public policy for the non-sexist city project. "Representation in public spaces impacts us and how we perceive ourselves."
But renaming streets is only one layer. Nantes opened Citadelles in 2019, a 700-square-meter center providing free, round-the-clock support for women victims of violence. It houses 18 nonprofits offering legal, psychological, and medical services under one roof. Since opening, it has supported over 5,500 women.
Deputy mayor Mahaut Bertu, who oversees the equality and non-sexist city initiatives, frames the work plainly: "We couldn't wait for change anymore. Femicides continue every year. Women suffer harassment every day. We had to take hold of the problem ourselves."
Reshaping How Public Life Works
The city has also redesigned the physical experience of being in public. School yards once dominated by soccer pitches now include spaces for quieter play and creativity. Benches called "banc parental" have been installed—wheelchair-accessible spots for breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, diaper changing, and rest. This came directly from an incident where a breastfeeding mother was asked to leave the central train station.
Parallel to these structural changes, Nantes runs feminist guided tours, podcasts on menstruation, and educational campaigns that treat gender taboos as something to be openly discussed, not whispered about.
Not every resident has embraced every initiative. Some, like 62-year-old Marie-Paul, have noted that the city shouldn't erase its past, even when that past wasn't positive. The point, though, isn't universal agreement—it's visible, sustained action on a problem most cities treat as inevitable.
Nantes has become a reference point for other European cities asking how to build public space that doesn't unconsciously favor one gender over another. The model is spreading quietly: measure the gap, name it, then change the infrastructure to match your values.
