Festiv'Elles
Intercommunal festival for women's rights
About Festiv'Elles
Created in 2016 in the Orléans metropolitan area, Festiv'Elles is an intercommunal festival dedicated to women's rights, organized every year in March around International Women's Rights Day. Through a multidisciplinary program combining theater, music, dance, exhibitions, cinema, conferences, and workshops, the festival gives a voice to women and highlights their journeys, struggles, and creations. Supported by the municipalities of the Orléans metropolitan area, it takes over the cultural venues of eleven towns with about thirty committed artistic proposals.
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Festiv'Elles: Culture in the Service of Equality
Since its creation in 2016, Festiv'Elles has established itself as a must-see cultural event in the Orléans metropolitan area. Every year in March, this intercommunal festival celebrates women's rights through a rich and demanding program, driven by the collective commitment of about ten municipalities in the region.
A Unique Intercommunal Project in Centre-Val de Loire
Festiv'Elles was born from the shared desire of several municipalities in the Orléans metropolitan area to offer a unifying cultural event around International Women's Rights Day on March 8th. The festival now brings together eleven towns — Chécy, Fleury-les-Aubrais, Ingré, La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, Orléans, Ormes, Saint-Denis-en-Val, Saint-Jean-de-Braye, Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Saran, and Semoy — which pool their resources and cultural venues to offer the public a highly diverse program.
The media libraries, performance halls, cultural centers, and community spaces in these towns become, for a month, the stages of a committed festival accessible to everyone.
A Multidisciplinary and Committed Program
The strength of Festiv'Elles lies in the variety of its artistic offerings. Each edition explores a different theme related to the female condition and offers about thirty events:
- Theater and Live Performances: Documentary plays, one-woman shows, theatrical readings featuring the stories of famous or anonymous women
- Music and Concerts: Committed French chanson, pop, soul, musical performances by female artists
- Contemporary Dance: Choreographic creations questioning the body, gender, and freedom
- Exhibitions and Visual Arts: Photography, comics, plastic arts exploring female representations
- Cinema: Screenings and debates of films and documentaries on feminist struggles
- Conferences and Meetings: Discussions with female authors, researchers, activists, and committed personalities
- Participatory Workshops: Writing, artistic creation, and body expression workshops open to all audiences
Strong Themes for Each Edition
Since its inception, Festiv'Elles has explored major issues of the female condition: the historical erasure of women, the place of women in sports (2023 edition, echoing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games), women in science (2025 edition), or economic inequalities and the invisibility of women's work (2026 edition). The festival draws on the journeys of emblematic figures — from Joséphine Baker to Simone Veil — as well as the testimonies of anonymous women to foster reflection and emotion.
A Popular and Accessible Festival
Festiv'Elles aims to be an event open to all audiences. Many offerings are free or at moderate prices, and the festival caters to families, teenagers, and adults alike. Specific actions are carried out for middle school students and community centers, with the creation of short films and artistic projects on gender equality. In eleven editions, Festiv'Elles has succeeded in creating a true metropolitan cultural network, demonstrating that culture is a powerful lever for advancing women's rights.
Festiv'Elles — edition 2026
The 11th edition of Festiv'Elles takes place from March 1st to 28th, 2026, in 11 municipalities of the Orléans metropolitan area. The program addresses economic inequalities, the historical erasure of female contributions, the invisible work of women in agriculture, and funding disparities in entrepreneurship and artistic creation, through documentary theater, concerts, exhibitions, and conferences.
11th Edition — Inequalities and Invisibility of Women
From March 1st to 28th, 2026, the 11th edition of Festiv'Elles will take over the cultural venues of 11 municipalities in the Orléans metropolitan area with a program focused on economic inequalities and the invisibility of women's work.
This edition questions the systemic mechanisms that perpetuate disparities: financial inequalities within couples, underfunding of female entrepreneurship, historical erasure of women's contributions, unpaid work of female farmers.
Program
- Documentary and Contemporary Theater exploring the stories of forgotten women
- Concerts: committed chanson, pop-soul, female musical performances
- Exhibitions: comics, literature, visual arts
- Conferences and Meetings with female authors, including Titiou Lecoq
- Contemporary Dance and multidisciplinary performances
- Screenings and Debates in the territory's media libraries
Participating Municipalities
Chécy, Fleury-les-Aubrais, Ingré, La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, Orléans, Ormes, Saint-Denis-en-Val, Saint-Jean-de-Braye, Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Saran, and Semoy.
Prices Festiv'Elles 2026
Practical information — Festiv'Elles
Practical Information
Period
Festiv'Elles takes place every year throughout the month of March, around International Women's Rights Day (March 8th).
Venues
Events are spread across the media libraries, performance halls, and cultural centers of the participating municipalities in the Orléans metropolitan area: Chécy, Fleury-les-Aubrais, Ingré, La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, Orléans, Ormes, Saint-Denis-en-Val, Saint-Jean-de-Braye, Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Saran, and Semoy.
Prices
Many events are free (open access or by reservation). Some performances are ticketed, with prices generally ranging from €5 to €8 (reduced rates available).
Reservations
Reservations are made directly with the cultural services and media libraries of the participating municipalities.
Access
By tramway: The TAO network (tram and bus) serves all municipalities in the Orléans metropolitan area.
By car: Orléans is accessible via the A10, A71, and A19 motorways. Public parking available near the performance venues.
Contact
For the detailed program and reservations, consult the websites of the participating municipalities or the festival's Facebook page.
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Travel to this festival
Book your train or bus to reach Festiv'Elles at the best price.
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Where does it take place — Festiv'Elles
Lieux culturels de la métropole d'Orléans
Métropole d'Orléans, 45000 Orléans