Cresson’s Fall Could Deal Blow to Women in Politics : France: Nation’s first female prime minister became its most unpopular after 10 rocky months in office.

In previous political incarnations, Edith Cresson had earned a reputation as a fighter and tough campaigner.

But in her brief, unhappy 10-month stint as prime minister, the first woman in history to hold the job as head of the French government, Cresson-the-fighter was knocked out almost before she could get in the ring.

Antoinette Fouque, president of a women’s rights group, the Women’s Alliance for Democracy, said that Cresson’s quick ouster may retard the advancement of women in French politics.

“It is a very abrupt setback for women,” said Fouque, one of the founders of the women’s movement here. “It could be a long time before another woman is named to a position of power. Because of the backlash, it could block things for a long time.”

Years before, President Francois Mitterrand had dubbed Cresson “my little soldier” and delighted in deploying her in rough political terrain.

In 1981, as France’s first woman minister of agriculture, she more than once faced down crowds of angry French farmers. In 1985, she and other feminists stormed the podium of a Socialist Party convention amid taunts from her male colleagues to “get back to the oven.”

But on May 15, 1991, when Mitterrand named her to replace Michel Rocard as prime minister, it was in a political climate already poisoned by growing public discontent with the Socialists and the decade-long rule of the 75-year-old president.

Compounding her predicament with some intemperate observations on international relations, including harsh characterizations of Japanese business practices that offended French perceptions of statesmanship, Cresson quickly sank in the polls.

A sagging economy prevented Cresson, 58, from implementing many of the industrial reforms that she had hoped would prepare France for expanded competition in Europe. Finally, a dismal showing by the Socialist Party in regional elections March 22 and March 29 sealed her fate.

As she entered office, the public briefly celebrated the novelty of a woman prime minister and gave Cresson an approval rating of 65%. By the time she resigned Thursday, that rating had fallen to under 20%, the lowest ever for a French prime minister.

Fouque, the feminist leader, blamed many of Cresson’s problems on what she described as a “media hate campaign” with sexist overtones.

Very early, for example, Cresson, who is married, is the mother of two daughters and is a grandmother, was forced to respond to unsubstantiated opposition claims that she had had an affair with Mitterrand. Fouque and other feminists observed, accurately, that French male politicians would never be subjected to the same questioning of their private life.

A Switch in France

French Prime Minister Edith Cresson was replaced by Finance Minister Pierre Beregovoy, a low-key pragmatist respected by the business community. She’s Out Profile: Edith Cresson (Pronounced ay-DEET kreh-SOHN) Born: Jan. 27, 1934 Hometown: Boulogne-sur-Seine Career highlights: Minister of agriculture, 1981-83; minister of foreign trade and tourism, 1983-84; minister of European affairs, 1988-90. Personality: She is combative and quick-witted, and the press depicted her as a leftist Margaret Thatcher. Such feistiness seemed exactly the quality needed to refresh the Socialists’ image. But the “Cresson factor” appears only to have made matters worse.

He’s In Profile: Pierre Beregovoy (Pronounced behr-eh-goh-VWAH) Born: Dec. 23, 1925 Hometown: Deville-les-Rouen, Normandy Career highlights: Mitterrand’s chief of staff at the Elysee Palace, 1981-82; minister of finance, 1984-86, 1988-1992. Personality: The soft-spoken politician, nicknamed Bere (pronounced Bay-ray), rose from a humble working-class background. He is a lifelong Socialist who whipped inflation and built a reputation for financial orthodoxy.

Premiers Under Mitterrand

Beregovoy is the sixth person to hold the post of prime minister since Francois Mitterrand became president in 1981. The list: Pierre Mauroy: served 1,152 days from May, 1981, to July, 1984. Laurent Fabius: served 613 days from July, 1984, to March, 1986. Jacques Chirac: a conservative who served 820 days, from March, 1986, to May, 1988, during the “cohabitation” in which rightist parties controlled the National Assembly. Michel Rocard: served 1,100 days from May, 1988, until May, 1991. Edith Cresson: served 323 days, from May, 1991, until April 2, 1992. Source: Times Wire Services