It illustrated a century of faith in human progress through science and the combined genius of inventors, engineers and mathematicians embodied by the Eiffel Tower. Yet not a single woman was selected—not even Sophie Germain, whom librarian and historian Jean Dérens (1943–2012) dubbed "the forgotten woman of the Eiffel Tower" on December 26, 1994, and whose 250th birthday is being celebrated in 2026. This grave injustice is now to be rectified: the City of Paris has tasked a committee with reviewing plans for a frieze to be placed just above the existing men's frieze, bringing together the names of 72 French women scientists who lived between 1789 and the present day and contributed to scientific progress at least as much as their male counterparts already inscribed there.
The painstaking task of compiling and selecting these names was entrusted to a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin, vice-president of the association Femmes & Sciences, and Jean-François Martins, president of the Eiffel Tower operating company. On January 26, the list of 72 women scientists was unveiled, including ten mathematicians: Yvette Amice (1936–1993), Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat (1923–2025, see Tangente no. 223), Edmée Chandon (1885–1944, see Tangente hors-série no. 97), Jacqueline Ferrand (1918–2014), Sophie Germain (1776–1831, see Tangente hors-série no. 97), Geneviève Guitel (1895–1982), Marie-Louise Jacotin (1905–1972), Paulette Libermann (1919–2007), Édith Mourier (1920–2017), Michelle Schatzman (1949–2010), Marie-Hélène Schwartz (1913–2013).
