The minister responsible for the fight against discrimination Aurore Bergé presented, Monday July 6, a three-year plan of 55 measures aimed at combating racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination linked to origin.
The measures combining training, prevention and support for victims were unveiled at the National Library of France, in the presence of ministers Édouard Geffray (national education), Françoise Gatel (land planning) and Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (citizenship).
“We must face reality: in 2025, nearly 1.7 million of our compatriots have been victims of racist, anti-Semitic or discriminatory comments or acts,” recalled Aurore Bergé. “This plan must send an absolutely essential Republican signal of harmony one year before the presidential election,” added the minister, who must also present a bill to the Council of Ministers on Thursday to combat racism and anti-Semitism.
A first three-year plan to combat discrimination was launched in January 2023 by Élisabeth Borne, then prime minister. The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) judged it “very insufficient” last March.
Responsible AI
The plan unveiled on Monday was developed over six months in association with the voluntary sector, the CNCDH, the rights defender’s teams as well as “for the first time” parliamentarians invited to contribute.
Among the main measures, the plan provides for an emphasis on the training of school heads, inspectors and future teachers, as well as the visit of memorial sites by 800,000 students per year (compared to 500,000 today). “An entire generation will go on a memorial visit,” promised Édouard Geffray.
The plan also aims to continue strengthening the training of gendarmes and police officers, to distribute a “support guide to filing a complaint” and to ensure “regular publication” and “precise monitoring” of convictions in matters of racist and anti-Semitic acts.
He promises to develop citizenship courses in places of memory to punish racist remarks, and to organize a recruitment testing campaign every two years. In sport, he intends to better train referees and raise awareness among supporters.
Finally, the plan plans to produce a non-discrimination training framework for real estate professionals, and to build “responsible AI, avoiding algorithmic bias in recruitment”. To ensure the monitoring of this plan which will mobilize the departments, each year a ministerial committee and an evaluation of the CNCDH are planned.
