France may remember 2012 as the year of women's rights. Newly elected President Francois Hollande has ushered in the country's first gender-balanced cabinet. His partner, twice-divorced journalist Valerie Trierweiler, is the country's first unmarried "first lady." And earlier this year, the government scrapped the honorific "Mademoiselle" from its official documents in favor of the more equalizing "Madame." But are these changes just symbolic?

法国新总统奥朗德推出一个男女各半的新内阁，他的女友成为法国首位未婚“第一夫人”。法国政府今年在官方文件中取消对女性“夫人”或“小姐”的称呼，一律改成“女士”。这些是深刻的社会变革，还是浮浅的表面功夫？

The easy part of Olivia Cattan's day ends at lunchtime, when she leaves her work as a pre-school assistant and starts her other job - as a journalist and founder of the feminist organization, "Paroles de Femmes," or "Words of Women."

奥丽维亚.卡坦在午餐时分结束了她的轻松工作，上午她在一家学龄前学校里担任助理。现在她开始了一天中的另一份工作，在她创办的杂志社--“女性话语”中担任记者。

Cattan advised President Francois Hollande on women's issues during his campaign.

在法国总统奥朗德竞选期间，卡坦曾经出任他的妇女问题顾问。

As France's new leader, Hollande appears to be acting on her advice. His Cabinet includes an equal number of male and female ministers. It also includes a new ministry of women's rights, headed by Najat Vallaud Belkacem, 34, who is also the government's spokeswoman.

看起来，法国新总统奥朗德听从了卡坦的建议，在法国新内阁里，内阁部长男女各半。新内阁还包括一个新成立的妇女权益部，由34岁的娜迦.瓦罗-贝尔卡塞姆担任部长，同时还兼任政府发言人。

Cattan says Hollande's initial gestures are great. She says his parity government amounts to a new page for French feminism.

卡坦说：“奥朗德总统上台伊始的头几把火都烧得很好，我认为，奥朗德领导的男女平等的政府为法国女性运动掀开新篇章。”

France also has a new, unmarried "first partner" - journalist Valerie Trierweiler, who was a key advisor during his campaign.

法国现在还有了一位未婚的“第一夫人”，记者瓦莱丽.特里耶韦莱。在法国总统奥朗德访美期间，她伴随总统访美。

Cattan adds that the first couple shows that marriage is not a necessity. French women have the right to choose what lives they want to lead.

女权活动人士卡坦：“这显示，你不必非要跟某人结婚才能住在一起。我们有权选择自己的生活方式。”

Women's issues have been in the spotlight in France for other reasons - notably the sexual allegations dogging former International Monetary Fund chief and French politician, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

还有其他原因使得妇女问题在法国倍受关注，原因之一是，国际货币基金组织前总裁卡恩身为一名法国政治家，却不断受到性骚扰指控。

Economics and minority rights professor Anne Boring says the Strauss-Kahn scandals amount to a wakeup call.

经济学家、少数群体权益问题教授安娜.博林说，卡恩丑闻对法国社会形成了相当大的冲击：

"I do think the Strauss-Kahn affair has had quite a strong impact on the French society," said Borning. "Now women are more willing to say what has happened to them or to denounce violence against women."

“我认为，法国妇女现在更愿意说出她们的遭遇，更愿意站出来谴责针对妇女的暴力。”

On the streets of Paris, businessmen like Olivier Bambois, 40, appear pleased with women's new assertion in political life.

在巴黎街头，法国人看起来对妇女在政治生活中取得新的自信感到满意，其中一人是商人奥利弗.巴姆博伊斯：

Bambois says it's good not to differentiate women and men in the workforce and in politics, what counts is their competency.

“在职场和政界，对男女一视同仁是件好事，说到底还是要看他们的能力。”

Theatre director Nadia Vonderheyden also praises recent changes, including the elimination of the term "Mademoiselle" or "Miss" from French government documents.

剧院指导娜迪亚.冯德海顿也赞扬了法国近来发生的变化，包括在法国政府文件中取消对女性“夫人”或“小姐”的称呼：

Now, Vonderheyden says, the government is beginning to reflect the reality of French society.

“政府的做法开始反映法国社会的现状了。”

But professor Boring says French women still have a long way to go.

不过，博林教授认为，法国妇女仍然任重道远：

"France is a country where women are still discriminated [against] at the work place and salaries of the women at the same stage of qualification are much lower than the salaries of men," Boring added. "Women tend to slow down their careers much more than men do."

“法国是一个妇女仍受歧视的国家。在职场，男女在同等职位上，女性的工资要大大低于男性。”

And she says only time will tell if Hollande's first steps to promote women's rights are effective.

"One of the guidelines is can he actually maintain parity within the government? The women who are in [ministerial] positions now - they have a huge responsibility - because they need to show that they are as able as men to do the job," Boring explained.

Cattan, too, says she will be watching closely to see if France's new president makes good on his promises to promote women's equality.

妇女权益活动人士卡坦也表示，她们将密切关注提倡男女平等，确保法国新总统兑现其承诺。