France has come from being a laggard to a leader, at both European and global levels, after the introduction of an authoritative law establishing a 40% gender quota on corporate boards in 2011. This chapter analyzes what lies behind the French “success story” in terms of the numerical feminization of corporate boards. The quota instrument has had direct positive effects on the quantitative presence of women on corporate boards, but it has fallen short of fully challenging the established gender norms that keep women out of significant positions of influence. While femocrats and women business leaders were successful in advocating for board quotas, they have faced two main challenges. The business case in favor of gender quotas did not contest the foundations of gender hierarchies in the corporate world. In addition, the resistance of mostly men gatekeepers was discrete but successful in limiting the transformative potential of the law.