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Monthly Event Reports

August 2023 | Ban on environmental group temporarily lifted
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The June 2023 ban of the environmental group Earth Uprisings (Les Soulèvements de la Terre) was temporarily lifted on 11 August by the Council of State, the highest administrative court. The Court ruled that the Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, who originally decreed the ban, did not provide enough evidence of incitement to violence to justify the ban and that disbanding the group restricted the activists’ freedom of association and assembly. The group was dissolved after Darmanin accused its activists of “ecoterrorism,” following protests against the construction of water reservoirs in March that resulted in violent clashes with the police. The Court is expected to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case in autumn. In the meantime, the group will be able to resume its activism.

July 2023 | Journalists go on strike after editorial independence threatened

Geoffroy Lejeune, the far-right former editor of the Valeurs Actuelles magazine, has been appointed editor-in-chief at Journal du Dimanche (JDD), against the will of more than 95 per cent of its journalists. JDD is France’s biggest Sunday newspaper, known for its centrist position. Under Lejeune’s leadership, Valeurs Actuelles was found guilty of racist hate speech by a Parisian court. This decision comes with the takeover of Lagardère Media Group, owner of JDD, by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who is known for purchasing French media outlets and imposing a right-wing editorial line on them. Fearing for their editorial independence and worried about media concentration, JDD journalists have gone on the longest strike in French media since 1975. They have received widespread support. Academics and civil society members signed open letters, Reporters Sans Frontières organized a rally for strikers, and lawmakers submitted bills to safeguard editorial independence in the French media. 

June 2023 | Deadly police shooting of teenager sparks riots

A police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old boy at a traffic stop in Nanterre, near Paris. The police officer has been preliminarily charged with voluntary homicide and the circumstances of the shooting, captured on video by a bystander, are under investigation. France’s human rights ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the teenager’s death. The killing sparked protests and riots across France, leading to the temporary imposition of curfews in some Paris suburbs, and suspension of night-time public transport services in the Paris region. The shooting revived debates about police brutality, as investigations proceed regarding the proportionality of the police officer’s use of his weapon in view of 2017 reforms permitting the use of firearms for the purposes of self-defence or for the protection of life or physical integrity of others. The incident also fed concerns about racial profiling as well as discrimination against French citizens with immigrant backgrounds.

April 2023 | Experts find insufficient social integration of people with disabilities

A public decision of Council of Europe experts found that France has failed to meet its commitments under the European Social Charter to support social integration of persons with disabilities. The decision was issued further to a complaint introduced to the European Committee on Social Rights (ECSR) in 2018 by the European Disability Forum and Inclusion Europe, two associations representing organisations of persons with disabilities across Europe. The Committee pointed to limitations in adopting effective measures on social support services, accessibility (including to public buildings, facilities and public transport), and inclusion of children and adolescents with disabilities in schools.

Explore past monthly event reports

GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
67 499 340
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne (since 2022)
Head of government party
Renaissance
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Two-Round System
Women in lower or single chamber
37.3%
Women in upper chamber
35.1%
Last legislative election
2022
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
6.82
Head of state
President Emmanuel Macron
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
01/05/2023
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
80.47% (2018)
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
No Action
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
in
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Categories of Democratic Performance

Representation neutral Representation
Apr 2023
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
Apr 2023
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Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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