France’s International Strategy for a Feminist Foreign Policy (2025-2030)

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Since the fourth UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, progress has been made on the rights of women and girls and gender equality, but at a very slow pace. At the current rate, it will take close to 300 years to achieve real gender equality worldwide.

France was the fourth country to adopt a feminist foreign policy in 2019, after Sweden, Canada and Luxembourg. In 2025, some 15 countries share this engagement. They all have made progress to further the rights of women and girls and gender equality a priority of their foreign policy.

With this strategy, France reaffirms its ambition and defines a clear political direction for the next five years.

A new strategy for scaled up ambition

France’s International Strategy for Feminist Foreign Policy 2025-2030 follows on from the International Strategy for Gender Equality adopted in 2018.

This new strategy document signals a paradigm shift by:

  1. Defining France’s feminist foreign policy;
  2. Promoting a feminist foreign policy through ambitious priorities and commitments, and;
  3. Spearheading the implementation of feminist foreign policy in a coordinated and participatory way.

The strategy defines common goals for all of France’s international and European action and establishes a plan of action for the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs for 2025-2030.

This document is the result of a broad participatory process bringing together Foreign Ministry directorates, agencies, sector-based ministries, bilateral and multilateral partners, international organizations, French and international civil society, the private sector, research institutions and philanthropic foundations. More than 200 stakeholders participated in 8 thematic working groups in external and internal consultations.

To mark International Women’s Day, France is launching its International Strategy for a Feminist Foreign Policy (2025-2030).

France’s International Strategy for a Feminist Foreign Policy (2025-2030) - (PDF, 97.5 kb)

Defining France feminist foreign policy

By promoting a feminist foreign policy, France places the rights of women and girls and gender equality at the centre of its foreign policy. It has made it a priority in every area of its European and international action, including peace and security, climate and the environment, development, democratic governance, human rights, humanitarian action, economic, financial and trade issues, digital technology, culture, education, health and food security. All the instruments involved in bilateral and multilateral diplomatic action and consular activity are concerned.

France’s feminist foreign policy is based on promoting the principle of equal rights, fundamental freedoms and opportunities for all human beings. It reaffirms the universality of the rights of women and girls and support the full achievement of gender equality as essential levers for sustainable development and the construction of peaceful, just and inclusive societies. Amid a growing number of crises and a rise in anti-rights movements, France is conducting this feminist foreign policy with determination.

Five pillars of France’s feminist foreign policy

  • Defending rights and freedoms

France has taken a rights-based approach and is actively fighting to defend and promote the rights of women and girls. These rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, inalienable and enforceable in States. Sexual and reproductive health and rights, including the right to safe abortion, are a cornerstone of France’s feminist foreign policy.

  • Fostering participation and representation of women in all decision-making processes

France is working for full, equal and significant participation of women in all dimensions of political, social and economic life. It promotes the representation of women and girls in all sectors of society, without gender stereotypes. It recognizes women as actors of change, including in crisis prevention, management and resolution. France supports the participation of men and boys in upholding the rights of women and girls and gender equality.

  • Fighting all forms of inequalities and gender-based violence

France recognizes the need to target the root causes of inequalities and gender-based violence and violence against women and girls. It fights gender stereotypes, supports an active and positive role of men and boys and combats the forms of masculinity that worsen inequalities. It takes multiple and cross-cutting discrimination factors into consideration. All instruments are being used to fight violence against women and girls and gender-based violence in all contexts, including armed conflicts and cyber space.

  • Ensuring equal access to resources and mobilizing financing to advance gender equality

France promotes equal access to resources and mobilizes financing to advance gender equality. It takes gender equality into account in all actions implemented with bilateral and multilateral financial instruments.

  • Adopting and promoting a feminist methodology

Implementing a feminist foreign policy requires working differently. Feminist methodology is centred on four guiding principles: the cross-cutting nature and coherence of action; partnerships and coalitions; training and expertise; and tangible achievements and accountability.

Conducting France’s feminist foreign policy: the five priorities

Priority 1: This strategy reaffirms the fundamental priorities of feminist foreign policy, including promoting equality in and through education; eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls and gender-based violence; supporting citizen and political participation of women; and taking action for women’s justice and economic empowerment. Sexual and reproductive health and rights are being defended to a greater extent, as a longstanding cornerstone of our feminist foreign policy.

Priority 2: With this new strategy, feminist foreign policy is working for strong and effective multilateralism. France, a high-profile leader at multilateral and European levels, will continue to place the rights of women and girls and gender equality at the centre of the multilateral agenda and in all forums.

Priority 3: France is scaling up its support to feminist movements, organizations and activities and has committed to engaging various financial instruments in efforts to improve gender equality.

Priority 4: New issues have also been added to the list of priorities, making gender equality a major focus of France’s response to today’s challenges. A feminist foreign policy aims to promote feminist climate and environmental action, to defend women’s rights in the digital environment and artificial intelligence, and to mobilize economic and trade diplomacy for equality.

Priority 5: A component is devoted to the prevention and response to crises and armed conflicts. As their numbers rise and conflict-related violence worsens, France commits to:

  • Ensure full, equal and significant participation of women and girls in conflict prevention and peace processes;
  • Fight sexual and gender-based and conflict-related violence and combat impunity;
  • Prevent and address crises and conflicts by systematising conducting gender analyses.

Main engagements

Hosting the Fourth Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies and co-chairing the Feminist Foreign Policy Group (FFP+) meeting in 2025

Three Conferences on Feminist Foreign Policies were held in Germany (2022), in the Netherlands (2023) and in Mexico (2024). These annual events testify to the engagement of a growing number of governments when it comes to feminist foreign policy and are a unique opportunity to bring together States and civil society to build momentum for women’s right. The Paris Conference will provide France with an opportunity to affirm its leading role in defending and promoting gender equality internationally.

Promoting and defending sexual and reproductive health and rights, inherent to women’s rights and gender equality

Sexual and reproductive health and rights are a cornerstone of France’s feminist foreign policy. It acts to facilitate access to abortion, contraception and comprehensive sexuality education. On 8 March 2024, France became the only country to enshrine “the guaranteed freedom for a woman to have an abortion” in its Constitutions. France will continue to maintain and promote sexual and reproductive health and rights on the international agenda in its bilateral relations and in multilateral institutions. In multilateral institutions, it will continue to defend an ambitious language and will exert its influence to take these rights forward and to be a catalyst for normative and legislative change at country level. Finally, France will continue to advocate for the inclusion of the right to abortion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Stepping up the use of the Support Fund for Feminist Organizations

Acting in partnership with civil society on these issues is a priority of our feminist foreign policy to promote the full realization of the rights of women and girls. Feminist organizations and activists play an essential role in upholding the rights of women and girls and in fighting for gender equality. As the first ones on the ground, they are working in a transformative way for sustainable, peaceful and prosperous societies. France will continue to provide support for activities and the structuration of French and local feminist organizations, and will put forward initiatives for dialogue and networking with international donors.

Boosting the rights of women and girls in peace, security and humanitarian relief efforts by supporting the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)

The WPHF is the biggest UN special fund devoted to supporting women and civil society organizations during crises. France supports the WPHF’s Women and Climate Security initiative, in particular.

Establishing the Francophone Feminist Alliance and the Francophone Network for Equality and Women’s Rights

At the 19th Francophonie Summit, held in Paris in October 2024 in Paris, France spearheaded, with Quebec, the creation of the Francophone Network for Equality and Women’s Rights. This forum for collaborating and sharing practices on national public policies will bring together representatives from Francophone States and Governments that have a common interest and engagement in promoting gender equality. France has also initiated a partnership with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and a consortium of civil society organizations around the Francophone Feminist Alliance, an initiative promoting the participation of Francophone feminist organizations in multilateral bodies and international summits and building their technical capabilities for addressing multilateral issues.

Stepping up efforts to fight violence against women and girls and gender-based violence

With this strategy, France will continue to encourage the universal adoption of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. It will continue its efforts to fight all forms of sexual violence, including conflict-related, and will combat the impunity of perpetrators by providing its political and financial support to the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims. It will strengthen the action of the diplomatic and consular network to ensure the protection of French nationals who are victims of violence abroad, provide security to the victims, and assist them in the steps they take and direct them to the appropriate services and structures, both locally and in France.

Defending women’s rights and promoting gender equality online

France will continue the work begun at the AI Action Summit in February 2025 and will widen the scope of action of the Laboratory for Women’s Rights Online. Launched in 2024, the Laboratory is both a platform for collaboration and exchange and an incubator of projects to prevent, identify and curb online gender-based violence.

Ramping up commitment to gender equality in all multilateral bodies

France will continue its engagement with the United Nations, working in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and UN agencies and funds, particularly UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund. Feminist foreign policy and girls’ education will be at the heart of the French Presidency of the G7 and G20 work.

Supporting citizen and political participation of women and promote their representation in all spheres of society

France will continue to defend free and fair access to the legal and justice system for all women and girls, in all contexts via legal aid programmes. It will work on women’s effective voting rights in the world. France’s action will help improve women’s access and participation in governance and decision-making mechanisms, through the implementation of General Recommendation 40 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Spearheading feminist foreign policy, a renewed method

To conduct feminist foreign policy, it is necessary to adopt a whole new methodology for work, implementation and governance based on four guiding principles:

  1. Cross-cutting and coherent action. Feminist foreign policy is conducted in all areas of France’s European and international action by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs leading efforts, with other ministries, the diplomatic and consular network and agencies, that are guided by common priorities, positions and messages. They build on actions conducted nationally working for gender equality.
  2. Partnerships and coalitions. Feminist foreign policy commonly uses a participatory method. It is crafted with bilateral and multilateral partners and French and international civil societies. France recognizes the crucial role and expertise of feminist organizations, movements, and activists and has made their participation in policies and programmes a priority. In its multilateral action, France actively participates in coordination mechanisms and coalitions to promote the rights of women and girls and gender equality. It interacts with all countries to see these rights advance in the world.
  3. Training and expertise. Ministries and agencies are committed to providing training on feminist foreign policy and women’s rights to improve their staff’s skills. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs will improve training on equality, the fight against gender stereotypes and sexual and gender-based violence, which have become mandatory since 8 March 2024. France is working on the development and the promotion of international expertise in feminist foreign policy by supporting research and taking part in international technical expert and seconded national expert programmes.
  4. Tangible results and accountability. France action abroad takes into account the specific features of places where it is working, while striving to meet the people’s needs as effectively as possible. With a do-no-harm approach, it works to have a positive effect on women’s rights without harming them under any circumstances or widening gender inequalities. France’s strategy for a feminist foreign policy is backed by an accountability framework whose actions are implemented by ministries, the diplomatic and consular network and agencies. An independent body called the High Council for Gender Equality evaluates whether objectives are being met. Civil society helps to define and monitor the strategy.
To find out more

Updated: March 2025