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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
National
Jessica Phelan

'A rebel who liked order': Valérie André, France's first female general

France RFI
French doctor and pilot Valérie André receiving a medal from the US Secretary of State for Air, Harold Talbot in Paris on 26 October 1953. She was one of the first women in the world to fly a helicopter in combat zones. © AFP - STF

Fifty years ago this month, the French army got its first female general: Valérie André, a surgeon, parachutist and helicopter pilot who blazed a trail for women in the highest ranks of the military.

Long before she was France’s highest-ranking female officer, Valérie André was a girl who wanted to fly.

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