Let’s March Again for Bread and Roses, and More Than Ever!

Let’s March Again for Bread and Roses, and More Than Ever!

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Remember the Du pain et des roses (Bread and Roses) march? This initiative by the Fédération des Femmes du Québec (FFQ), in collaboration with several other organizations, made Quebec history.

It also opened the door to the creation of the World March of Women in 2000, as pointed out, by Sylvie St-Amand, President of the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) and co-spokesperson for the actions of “Marchons pour Du pain et des roses, encore et plus que jamais”.

Struggles against poverty, for equality and dignity…

At the time, the Du pain et des roses march brought together over 850 women who, from May 26 to June 4, 1995, marched towards the National Assembly in Quebec City, where 18,000 people were waiting. Sr. Lise Gagnon walked the entire route, while a few companions from the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) joined her for a day or two. Watch her testimony in the video clip below (in French only).

Françoise David, co-spokesperson and president of the FFQ, at the time of the 1995 march pointed out: “In these troubled and worrying times, women more than ever feel the desire to mobilize with all those who support them in the fight for their rights. The actions of May and June 2025 will be moments of reunion, but also of reaffirmation of the need to demand together a fair and egalitarian Quebec. Ig is a prelude to the big rally on October 18, organized by the Quebec Coordination of the World March of Women.”

An inspiring commemoration

Organizations from all walks of life (feminist, union, community, mixed and single-sex) are planning dozens of marches in the regions between May 26 and June 4. This program will be complemented by symbolic marches led by citizens in their respective communities.

The aim is to build popular support around values and demands for justice, culminating in a march in Quebec City on June 7, 2025, from 1 to 4 pm. Marchers will set off from the Musée national des beaux-arts de Québec, making a symbolic stop in front of the National Assembly before moving on to Parc de la Francophonie.

To find out more about our events, visit the FFQ website and Facebook account (in French only). During activities, purple clothing is preferred.

 

Demands of the Bread and Roses march in 1995

  1. A social infrastructure program with jobs available to women now.
  2. Proactive pay equity legislation.
  3. Raising the minimum wage above the poverty line ($8.15 an hour).
  4. Application of minimum labor standards legislation to all people participating in employability measures.
  5. A system of automatic collection of alimony payments with deduction at source.
  6. The creation of at least 1,500 new social housing units per year.
  7. Access to existing general and vocational training programs and services, with adequate financial support, for all people not receiving unemployment insurance or income security, with a view to their integration or reintegration into the workforce.
  8. Retroactive application of the reduction in sponsorship from 10 years to 3 years for immigrant women sponsored by their husbands, as well as the establishment of a mechanism for access to social rights for sponsored women who are victims of domestic violence.
  9. Freeze tuition fees and increase student grants.

NOTE: The 1995 demands are included in the objectives of those of the Quebec Coordination of the World March of Women (CQMMF) in 2025. (in French only)