Human rights in France are contained in the preamble of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of the

French Fifth Republic The Fifth Republic () is France's current republic, republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of France, Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged fr ...

, founded in 1958, and the 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...

. France has also ratified the 1948

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

, as well as the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

1960 and the

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union (EU) citizens and residents into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly procla ...

(2000). All these

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

instruments take precedence on national legislation. However,

human rights abuse Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

s take place nevertheless. The state of detention centres for unauthorized migrants who have received an order of

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

has also been criticized.

Conventions and acts

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789

During the French Revolution, deputies from the

Third Estate The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

drafted the

, voted by the General Estates on 26 August 1789. Inspired by the philosophy of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and by the 1776

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

– Lafayette participated in the drafting of both – in that it proclaims the " inalienable rights of Man", and is protected by a "Supreme Being", it mainly granted to the

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

the right of

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

, of

freedom of thought Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by developing knowledge, concepts, theo ...

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membe ...

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

and the protection of

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

. France signed and ratified the

in 1948 as well as all

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

Roma expulsion (since 2010)

In 2010, the French government launched a programme of forced deportation of the Roma. These deportations have been heavily criticised by many human rights and international political organisations. The Council of Europe has condemned the expulsions, calling them "contrary to human dignity". Those who accepted to leave France received €300 per adult and €100 per child under the condition that they sign a declaration stating they will not try to come back to France. The French Government had the goal of deporting 30,000 Roma in 2011.

Censorship

In conventional terms, France does not have censorship laws. Historically, before its repeal under

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

in the early 1980s, the ORTF had a significant influence on the mass media. The CSA that has since replaced it is concerned with the respect of

French law French law has a dual jurisdictional system comprising private law (), also known as judicial law, and public law (). Judicial law includes, in particular: * () * Criminal law () Public law includes, in particular: * Administrative law ( ...

in the media, in particular the 1990 Gayssot Act which prohibits racist and/or religious

hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...

, and time period allocated to each

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

during pre-electoral periods. Furthermore, other laws prohibit

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

hate speech, and a 1970 law prohibits the advocacy of

illegal drugs Illegal may refer to: Law * Violation of law ** Crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and uni ...

Police abuses and detention conditions

In 2004, the Inspector General of the National Police received 469 registered complaints about illegitimate

police violence Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

during the first 11 months of the year, down from 500 during the same period in 2003. There were 59 confirmed cases of police violence, compared to 65 in the previous year. In April 2004, the ECHR condemned the Government for "inhumane and degrading treatments" in the 1997 case of a teenager beaten while in police custody. The court ordered the Government to pay Giovanni Rivas $20,500 (15,000 euros) in damages and $13,500 (10,000 euros) in court costs. The head of the police station in Saint-Denis, near Paris, was forced to resign after allegations of rape and other violations committed by the police force under his command. Nine investigations concerning police abuse in this police station were done in 2005 by the IGS inspection of police.

Discrimination

On 2 December 2020, the French government dissolved the ‘

Collective Against Islamophobia in France The Collective Against Islamophobia in France (; abbreviated CCIF) was a French non-profit organisation, created in 2003 and dissolved in 2020, which had the mission to combat discrimination towards Muslims in France, providing legal support to vi ...

’ (CCIF), an NGO that combats discrimination against Muslims. CCIF's works have been recognised by the Human Rights Watch as well as other international human rights organizations and lawyers to be important in documenting the discriminatory impact of counterterrorism measures. The "idéal républicain" (republican ideal) intends to achieve equality in rights between French citizens. To this end, in the national census, the collection of statistics regarding ethnicity or religion is forbidden. This has led to some debate over the decline of indigenous minority languages and identity in the French Republic. According to the Direction centrale des renseignements généraux (Central Directorate of General Intelligence), the former intelligence service of the French police, in 2004 there were 1,513 explicitly racist or antisemitic incidents in France, including 361 acts of violence. Antisemitic incidents were the most numerous, accounting for 950 of the incidents, including 199 violent acts. Anti-Maghreb incidents accounted for 563 incidents, including 162 violent acts. The Paris region was the most affected. 2007 saw an overall decrease of 9% in such incidents. In May 2019, "inhumane treatment" by France towards the children of French citizens affiliated with

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

jihadists stranded in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

highlighted that Paris was flouting its UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

obligations.

Minority acculturation

Before the Revolution, Standard French (a dialect of

Langue d'Oïl Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras. The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon mis ...

) was spoken in only slightly more than half of the territory of France. In western

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, southern

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Alsace-Lorraine and most of the southern half of France (

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

), local people had their own distinct cultures.

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

is a

Celtic language The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yves ...

akin to Welsh, Alsace-Lorraine was part of the German-speaking world, while

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

is a separate

Romance language The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

. With the centralization of the Republic that accompanied the Revolution, the state imposed the teaching of Standard French in all schools and universities, and the exclusive use of French in government institutions. Promotion of a local language or culture has finally been allowed, but under severe restrictions which effectively make it difficult to publish, organize classes, or media broadcasts.

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion in France is guaranteed by the constitutional rights set forth in the 1789

. In practice, however, the government restricts religious expression in the public square. For example, it is typically illegal to wear religious symbols in public schools such as crosses or hijabs. In addition, France from the Third Republic onwards has had a long tradition of hostility towards

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and an almost equally long flirtation with

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

Women's rights

France legalized

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

on 21 April 1944. The Neuwirth law legalized

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

methods on 28 December 1967.

Youths Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Youth ...

were given anonymous and free access to them in 1974. Abortion was legalized in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy by the

Veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

law on 17 January 1975.

LGBT rights

Homosexuality was decriminalized during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

by the law of 25 September – 6 October 1791. On 6 August 1942 Vichy government introduced a discriminative law in penal code: article 334 (moved to article 331 on 8 February 1945 by the

Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; , GPRF) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation of continental France after Operations ''Overlord'' and ''Drago ...

) increased age of consent to 21 for homosexual relations. This law remained valid until 4 August 1982. A less known discriminative law (''

ordonnance In French law, an ''ordonnance'' (, "order") is a statutory instrument issued by the Council of Ministers in an area of law normally reserved for primary legislation enacted by the French Parliament. They function as temporary statutes pending ...

'' n°60-1245 on 1960, 25 November ) doubled penalty for

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

in case of homosexual activity, between 1960 and 1980 (penal code article 330). This text is also known as the Mirguet

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

. The ''

pacte civil de solidarité In France, a civil solidarity pact (), commonly known as a ''PACS'' (), is a contractual form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage. The PACS was vote ...

'', a form of

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

, introduced in 1999, allows same-sex unions. A bill granting same-sex couples the right to marry and jointly adopt children was adopted by the National Assembly on 18 May 2013 by Law 2013-404

Intersex rights

Intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

people in France face significant gaps in protection from non-consensual medical interventions and protection from discrimination. In response to pressure from intersex activists and recommendations by United Nations Treaty Bodies, the Senate published an inquiry into the treatment of intersex people in February 2017. It calls for significant changes to some medical practices, and also reparations for individuals subjected to coercive medical treatment. An individual, Gaëtan Schmitt, has taken legal action to obtain civil status as "neutral sex" ("sexe neutre") but, in May 2017, this was rejected by the Court of Cassation.

Human trafficking

There has been a growing awareness of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

as a human rights issue in Europe (''see main article:

trafficking in human beings Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

''). The end of communism and collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia has contributed to an increase in human trafficking, with the majority of victims being women forced into prostitution. France is a transit and destination country for persons, primarily women, trafficked mainly from Central and Eastern Europe and from Africa for the purpose of labour exploitation and sexual exploitation. The Government of France fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The French government was called on to make sure that implementation of the 2003 Domestic Security Law did not result in re-victimizing trafficking victims by improving the screening of foreign prostitutes so that trafficking victims are properly identified and protected from their traffickers.

Mass surveillance and databases

The collection, storage, and use of personal data is regulated by the CNIL whose mission is to enforce compliance with the

data privacy Information privacy is the relationship between the collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, contextual information norms, and the legal and political issues surrounding them. It is also known as data ...

law.

Human rights organizations

Human rights organizations operating in France include: *

Ligue des droits de l'homme The Human Rights League ( '' t du citoyen' or LDH) is a human rights non-governmental organisation, NGO association whose mission includes to observe, human rights defender, defend and promulgate human rights within the French Republic in al ...

(LDH, Human Rights League – created during the Dreyfus Affair at the end of the 19th century) *

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

(AI) *

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

(HRW) * Cimade (the only organization authorized to visit internment camp for illegal aliens (''sans-papiers'', literally "without-papers", that is people who do not possess

identity documents An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

) * GISTI (immigrants support NGO) * LICRA (anti-racist NGO) *

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

(anti-racist NGO) * SOS Racisme (anti-racist NGO)

References

External links

French Government Website on Human rightsHRW website on FranceReview of France
by the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

Universal Periodic Review The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that emerged from the 2005 UN reform process.resolution 60/251of 3 April 2006, the UPR periodically examines the human rights performance of a ...

, 14 May 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Human Rights in France

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...