On the eve of March 8, International Women’s Day, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs presented its 2025-2030 roadmap for feminist diplomacy. This strategic document has been long awaited by French civil society and was launched in a particularly difficult international context.
AN AMBITIOUS STRATEGY THREATENED BY CUTS IN OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
This launch comes at a toxic time globally. On the one hand, the rise of anti-rights and conservative movements threatens rights that were thought to have been won for women, girls, and gender minorities. On the other hand, official development assistance (ODA) is currently undergoing unprecedented budget cuts.
Several European countries, including France, are significantly reducing their ODA commitments, particularly funding dedicated to gender. This undermines the progress made in recent years and gradually distances these countries from the goal of ring-fencing 0.7% of the GDP of Northern countries for international aid. Set by the United Nations in 1970, this goal is not new, but France only incorporated it into its legislation in 2014 and is constantly postponing its achievement.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Trump administration is causing an unprecedented upheaval by suspending nearly 90% of the budget of USAID (the US government agency responsible for economic development and humanitarian aid) almost overnight. This is having dramatic consequences, particularly on education and access to healthcare and basic services for millions of people around the world.
THE NEED FOR A STRONG SIGNAL IN THE LIGHT OF REPEATED ATTACKS ON WOMEN AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS
The launch of this strategy, which defines the pillars and priorities of France’s foreign policy until 2030, had been awaited since 2019, when the government publicly committed to adopting a feminist foreign policy. Presented by Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, this roadmap is the result of extensive consultation with civil society. However, it has not yet been published in its entirety.
Through this strategy, France seeks to define its feminist diplomacy, which is now supposed to be promoted by all ministries. This must apply to all aspects of foreign policy: foreign trade, defense, security, diplomatic relations, etc. However, at this stage, it still does not include a systemic and intersectional approach that would take into account other existing inequalities, such as those linked, for example, to the history of colonialism.
FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS ARE CRUCIAL
“Feminist diplomacy aims to promote feminist climate and environmental action, defend women’s rights in the digital environment and artificial intelligence, and mobilize economic and trade diplomacy in favor of equality. “This can be read on the Ministry’s website. This strategy is therefore ambitious. However, it can only be effective if it is accompanied by funding to enable its implementation. Without resources, these objectives will clearly not be achieved.
A few weeks ago, France decided to reduce its budget by more than €2 billion for 2025. The Feminist Organizations Support Fund (FSOF), a funding mechanism that has supported more than 1,400 feminist organizations between 2020 and 2024, is likely to suffer as a result. It therefore seems difficult to resolve such a contradiction: deciding to promote ambitious feminist diplomacy without providing sufficient financial resources to implement it.
Feminist diplomacy can only bear fruit if it draws a coherent line between all of France’s external actions. It must not be reduced to mere political rhetoric, but must form the basis of an ambitious feminist foreign policy, accompanied by a framework of accountability, monitoring with civil society, and the resources necessary to respond to current challenges.