Arlette Laguiller

Arlette Yvonne Laguiller (born 18 March 1940) is a French politician. From 1973 to 2008, she was the spokeswoman and the best-known leader and presidential nominee of Lutte Ouvrière (LO), a Trotskyist political party. Born at Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, Arlette became a clerical worker in a bank. She was a member of the CGT until 1965 when she was expelled for her Trotskyist views. She joined Lutte Ouvrière in 1968. She became the leader of a 1974 bank workers' strike that began with the actions of employees at Crédit Lyonnais. She continues to live in a council high-rise in Les Lilas and her only income is her pension from the bank where she worked for 40 years.