The issue of the development of the discipline of nursing sciences in France is crucial, especially since the Law for the Modernization of the Health System has established a legal framework for advanced practice in 2016. This article presents a discussion on the important role that Léonie Chaptal played in the development of nursing care in France, based on a purely professional vision, guaranteeing the medical profession the subordination of nurses in the spirit of the law of November 30, 1892 which established physicians’ control over health matters. We have drawn from this discussion some lessons that we consider essential for the future development of a true discipline of nursing in France, in the context of the deep organizational transformation initiated by the health system.