FRANCE
France is currently in a transition period on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).
Its Third National Action Plan (NAP) (2021–2025) remains the latest adopted plan, but the French Government has announced that a Fourth National Action Plan (2026–2030) is due to be adopted. French officials stated in late 2025 that the new plan would reflect lessons from the previous cycle and the evolving WPS agenda.
Current National Action Plan (2021–2025)
The Third NAP is structured around the four pillars of the UN WPS agenda, with an additional emphasis on governance and accountability:
- Participation
- Increase women’s participation in conflict prevention, mediation and peace negotiations.
- Promote women’s leadership in international organisations and diplomacy.
- Increase the participation of women in security institutions and peace operations.
- Protection
- Prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence.
- Strengthen protection of women and girls affected by armed conflict.
- Support survivors through justice, healthcare and psychosocial services.
- Prevention
- Integrate gender perspectives into conflict prevention and early warning.
- Strengthen gender-sensitive diplomacy and crisis response.
- Promote women’s participation in preventing violent extremism.
- Relief and Recovery
- Ensure humanitarian assistance addresses women’s and girls’ specific needs.
- Promote women’s economic and political participation during reconstruction.
- Support inclusive post-conflict governance.
- Governance and Mainstreaming
- Improve coordination across ministries.
- Develop monitoring indicators.
- Improve training for government personnel.
- Strengthen reporting and evaluation mechanisms.
Civil society involvement
France places considerable emphasis on civil society engagement.
During development of the Third NAP:
- Women’s rights organisations participated in consultations.
- Peacebuilding NGOs contributed recommendations.
- Academic experts and research institutes provided technical input.
- Humanitarian organisations were consulted on protection and humanitarian priorities.
Implementation also includes:
- Regular dialogue between ministries and civil society.
- Monitoring meetings with NGOs.
- Support for French and international women’s organisations working in conflict settings.
Civil society organisations have nevertheless argued that:
- consultation could be more systematic;
- implementation reporting should be more transparent;
- measurable indicators and independent evaluation should be strengthened;
- dedicated funding should be increased.
Women in policing
France does not establish numerical targets for women in policing within the NAP, but commits to:
- promoting gender equality within police institutions;
- increasing women’s participation in international police deployments;
- strengthening training on gender-based violence;
- improving prevention and investigation of conflict-related sexual violence.
Available information
Women serve throughout the French police services, including the Police nationale and Gendarmerie nationale. France has steadily increased female representation over recent decades, although women remain underrepresented in some specialist operational and senior leadership roles. The NAP does not publish detailed policing statistics.
Women in peacekeeping
France commits to:
- increasing deployment of women in UN peacekeeping;
- promoting women in military observer and staff officer positions;
- supporting gender advisers in peace operations;
- providing gender-sensitive pre-deployment training;
- combating conflict-related sexual violence.
France is a long-standing contributor to UN peacekeeping missions and supports implementation of the UN’s Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy. The NAP recognises that increasing women’s participation improves operational effectiveness and civilian engagement.
Women in the military
The NAP aims to:
- promote women’s recruitment and career progression;
- improve access to leadership positions;
- integrate gender perspectives into military planning;
- strengthen training on WPS throughout the armed forces.
UN Peacekeeping Statistics:
2026 Data (totals only available)
Experts on Missions 1
Formed Police Units 0
Individual Police 2
Staff Officers 18
Troops 642
Total 663
The French Armed Forces have one of the highest proportions of women among major European militaries. Women serve across all branches—including combat roles, naval service, the air force, cyber units and overseas operations—and are increasingly represented in senior leadership, although they remain a minority overall. France continues to pursue gender equality through recruitment, career development and leadership initiatives.
International priorities
France’s NAP also prioritises:
- ending conflict-related sexual violence;
- support for women human rights defenders;
- women’s leadership in mediation;
- integrating WPS into French foreign policy;
- strengthening implementation through the European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, United Nations, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Fourth National Action Plan (2026–2030)
Current status
French officials have confirmed that a Fourth National Action Plan (2026–2030) is being prepared. Early indications suggest it will:
- strengthen implementation and accountability;
- reinforce support for women affected by armed conflict;
- place greater emphasis on intersectionality and climate-security issues;
- deepen cooperation with civil society;
- align with the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and more recent UN WPS resolutions.
As of July 2026:
- No draft has been released publicly.
- No public consultation document is available.
- No draft has appeared on the French Government’s websites.
France announced in late 2025 that the Fourth NAP was being finalised and would build on lessons from the previous plan, but only the announcement—not the draft text—has been published.
Expected areas of development
Theme
Expected changes
Implementation
Stronger monitoring and accountability
Indicators
More measurable outcomes
Civil society
More structured engagement
Climate-security
Greater integration
Intersectionality
Expanded throughout the plan
Humanitarian action
Greater emphasis on local women’s organisations
Leadership
Increased focus on women in senior diplomatic, military and police roles
International cooperation
Continued leadership within UN, EU and NATO
Strengths
- Long-standing political commitment to the WPS agenda.
- Strong integration of WPS into foreign policy.
- High participation of women in the armed forces compared with many European countries.
- Significant international funding for WPS programmes.
- Active role within UN peacekeeping and multilateral diplomacy.
Remaining challenges
- Limited public reporting on implementation outcomes.
- No dedicated WPS budget published.
- Women remain underrepresented in the highest military and security leadership positions.
- Civil society organisations continue to call for greater transparency and stronger accountability mechanisms.
References
France Third National Action Plan 2021-2025
Contributions of Uniformed Personnel to UN by Country, Mission, and Personnel Type (March 2025): 05-Missions Detailed By Country
https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/05_missions_detailed_by_country_84_march_2025.pdf
UN data 2026
Information above in text from Chat GPT / AI sources 2026 searches