EESC Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group concludes a visit to France

On 27-28 November 2024, the Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law (FRRL) Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) concluded a two-day visit to Paris.

This visit gave the opportunity to the group of five EESC Members to hear civil society representatives about key trends in France concerning fundamental rights of social partners, freedoms of association and assembly, freedom of expression (including media freedom), the right to non-discrimination, and the rule of law.

Participants in the discussions emphasised:

• Social partners’ strong commitment to social dialogue and their regret over authorities making labour-related decisions without sufficient consultation.
• Civil society organizations’ concerns about growing restrictions on freedoms of association and assembly, alongside a sustained decline in funding.
• Media professionals’ warnings about increasing media concentration, the security of journalists, and the challenges in ensuring trustworthy information including in relation with platforms.
• A troubling halt in progress toward greater social acceptance in France, with significant direct and indirect discrimination persisting.
• Legal professionals’ concerns about the lack of resources in the judiciary, the normalisation of political rhetoric undermining the rule of law and calls to address chronic prison overcrowding.

The EESC delegation also discussed with the representation of the European Commission and the authorities of France.

A report will be issued in the coming months.

The visit was the second one of the FRRL Group to France, following a visit in May 2019 (report).

Background

The EESC established in 2018 a Group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law (FRRL Group), which is tasked to provide a forum for European civil society organisations to meet and discuss fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law. The FRRL Group promotes respect for the European values listed in Article 2 TEU by raising awareness of and assessing the state of play of these values in the Member States and allowing for the exchange of good practices. To this end, the FRRL Group hosts hearings, conferences, and carries out country visits with the aim of identifying trends in Europe concerning fundamental rights and the rule of law, inasmuch as they develop in national contexts.

Country visit reports are issued along with the observations of the authorities, a few months after the visits (they can be accessed here). The visit to France was the fourth one of the second cycle of visits of the FRRL Group to all EU Member States and candidate countries. The Report synthesising the first cycle of country visits (2018-2024) led in 2018-2019,  2020-2021, 2022, and 2023-2024 are available.

For more information about the EESC FRRL Group methodology, see this document.

The delegation of the FRRL Group to France was composed of:

• DE FELIPE LEHTONEN, Helena (I-ES)

• GOBIŅŠ, Andris (III, LV)

• JOHANSSON, Benny (II-SE)

• PÎRVULESCU, Cristian (III, RO)

• SOETE, Paul (I-BE)