Disability in France

Overview

500,000 cafes hotels and restaurants still not accessible according to the minister for tourism. (In French, 2024, Nice-Presse)

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Housing

Locked out of decent housing, disabled residents in France struggle for dignity. (Feb, France 24)

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Anti-ableist activists and management associations a useful breakdown of political history of disability in France and understanding the different claims of organisations to represent disabled people. (2024, Capucine Lemaire)

The benefits of the President of APAJH denounced in the press. Reporting investigates the “delusions of grandeur”, remuneration and benefits of the President of the Association for Young People and Adults with Disabilities, which include multiple annual trips to Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. (2024, Le Media Social)

Blockage at Invalides metro station A protest by disabled-feminist collective Les Dévalideuses. “You block us, we block you” (In French, 2023, Les Dévalideuses)

A disabled woman in Paris goes on hunger strike to demand accessible housing. (In French, 2023, France Info)

Disability activists protest in France ahead of Paris Olympics. Highlighting inaccessible metro services and drawing pledges from Macron. (2023, Associated Press)

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Accessibility at the Philharmonie de Paris: Allowing Everyone to Experience Music. (2024, International Council of Museums)

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Online Accessibility

Accessibility Advocates Sued by French Overlay Company discussion of advocates who lost a lawsuit for tweets critiquing the company. (2024, Equal Entry)

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Overview

Salaries for disability professionals to increase but unlikely to be enough to calm a crisis. (2022, Faire Face)

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Social Protection

“Unacceptable cut” of funding to Agefiph, the agency supporting professional integration of people with disabilities. (In French, 2024, La Croix)

Discriminatory algorithm used by the social security agency must be stopped: It has been condemned by a group of 15 organisations. According to Amnesty International:

“From the outset, the risk-scoring system used by CNAF treats individuals who experience marginalization – those with disabilities, lone single parents who are mostly women, and those living in poverty – with suspicion.” (2024, Amnesty)

The allowance for disabled adults has been “deconjugalized” meaning that income is assessed on an individual basis rather than together with that of your spouse. (In French, 2023, Handicap.gouv)

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The disability employment quota between social policy and antidiscrimination (2022, Anne Revillard)

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Disability history in France: past, present and future “In this roundtable seven historians discuss the emergence of disability studies in France, assessing the continued relevance of classics in the field as well as new directions in research.”

Designing deaf spaces: education, hygiene, and citizenship in nineteenth-century France:

“The renovation of the Paris Institute for Deaf-Mutes during the 1820s–30s engaged pressing questions about hygiene and social progress in the postrevolutionary era of national reconstruction. The architectural transformation of the Bordeaux Institute for Deaf-Mute Girls from the 1860s not only reflected the changing pedagogical focus from sign language to oralism; it was also imbricated in broader debates about laïcité and educational standardisation as France transitioned from empire to republic.” (2024, International Journal of the History of Education)

A series on disability and collective mobilizatons: a demonstration by young blind people in 1939, by the old and unwell in 1963, deaf people in 1993 and a blockage by Handi-social in 2018. (In French, 2023, Balises)

An Early Medieval Prosthetic Hand and what it might show us about violence, community and care. (2022, History Workshop)

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Afghan Evacuees Need Mental Health Support (2022, Human Rights Watch)

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Overview

Debate over closure of establishments for disabled people has stalled. “Emmanuel Macron recently advocated "deinstitutionalization", while emptying the term of its meaning.” (In French, 2023, Libération) See discussion on the Debrief.

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Conditions in Institutions

Their disabled daughter dies in a home for people with multiple disabilities: APF France Handicap was found guilty of negligence, and faults in the organisation of the service and training of staff. (2024, France Bleu)

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A lot has been said about me: I had to move forward. Documentaries about the lives of disabled people, “who must learn to live with their bodies, bypass the narratives that we build on their backs and make do with the obstacles that society throws in their way.” (2023, BLAST)

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One year before Paralympics, Paris trying to make city more accessible to those with disabilities (2023, AP)

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Freedom, equality, accessibility. Reflections on France's relationship with disability: “a love story between big ambitions and small achievements”. (Mar, Couper L'Herbe Sous Les Roues)

Twenty years later, a bitter assessment of France's disability law whose major advances are not yet realized. (In French, Feb, Le Monde)

”We have the right to be angry”: on the 20th anniversary of the disability law, where protestors also critiqued disability organisations supporting segregation. (In French, Feb, Bondy Blog)

20 years of the Disability Act: a more accessible cultural world. (In French, Feb, Ministry of Culture)

20 years of the Disability Act: finally a rights-based approach? Interview with Céline Poulet, Secretary General of the Interministerial Committee on Disability. (In French, Feb, Handicap.fr)

French persons with disabilities rally: We are also the Republic! And sign an open letter defending the rights and citizenships of people with disabilities. (Feb, EDF)

Effective Participation in the International Monitoring of the UNCRPD? The Experience of the Disability Movement in Denmark, Hungary and France. Showing how Organisations of Persons with Disabilities “significantly influenced each country’s reporting process at the UN level”. (Jan, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

Citizen consultation to inform a new disability law (In French, 2024, Handicap.fr)

The absence of a disability ministry does not go unnoticed:

“During the Games, we were told to change the way we look at things, but these promises, which few of us believed, disappeared as soon as the spotlight went out." (In French, 2024, Huffpost)

Ten Paralympic legacies of Paris 2024 Hosting the Paralympic Games has led to the City of Paris investing EUR 125 million into making the historic French capital more accessible (2024, International Paralympic Committee)

The Council of Europe denounces violation of rights of people with disabilities by the French State:

“The Council of Europe has now declared the lack of support and shortage of support services, socio-economic injustices, difficulty in accessing housing and health care, but also the refusal of schooling. The freedom and dignity of people with disabilities are hindered, their rights are violated by the French state.” (2023, Inclusion Europe)

President Macron announces 1.5 billion euro investment in accessible public spaces, and initiatives to support children, employment, financial support and sports. (In French, 2023, Le Monde) See also on France 24 and the context of upcoming Olympics, and how it's welcomed by the International Paralympic Committee.

The 2021 report of the Defender of Rights shows disability as the most frequent claim of discrimination (in French, 2022, Faire Face)

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MP Sébastien Peytavie threatened by neo-Nazi website “A racist and xenophobic blog threatened the elected official, referring to Action T4, a program to exterminate the disabled under the Third Reich.” (In French, Apr, Libération)

Sébastien Peytavie angry after not being able to vote for the presidency himself. The wheelchair-using delegate had to give his ballot to a bailiff in the first rounds of voting for President of the assembly. (In French, 2024, Huffpost)

Anti-ableists against the extreme right and its ideas “Fighting the far right is a matter of survival”. (In French, 2024, Les Dévalideuses)

Charged with attempted rape, Damien Abad will no longer speak for his political group (In French, 2024, France Info)

Pressure mounts on French disabilities minister accused of rape “In an earlier statement denying the allegations, Abad said his own disability meant he was incapable of sexually assaulting anyone.” (2022, France 24) I don't know more than what's in this article, but I don't buy the disability excuse.

For the elections, a campaign 23 Million Voices of persons with disabilities and caregivers in France to remind politicians of the essential measures to integrate into their campaign program. (2022, APF France Handicap)

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The consent dilemma: Why France is struggling to end forced sterilisation of women with disabilities. (2023, Euronews)

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Paralympics celebrate disability, but in Paris, access was hit-or-miss The Washington Post interviewed athletes and fans about accessibility at the Games. (2024, Washington Post)

The Guardian view on the Paris Paralympics: “A vibrant, well-attended Games showcased the best of parasport. But the challenges outside the sporting arena remain the same” (2024, the Guardian)

‘Incredible energy’: how Paris crowds lifted French paralympians to medal glory “Healthy ticket sales, record TV ratings – a nation once indifferent to parasport is now cheering its athletes on to new levels of success” (2024, the Guardian)

In the Paralympic Fix-It Shop, Plenty of Fractures but No Blood Repair technicians at the Paris Games fix everything from bent wheelchair frames to broken sunglasses. (2024, New York Times)

IPC President praises accessibility improvements made by City of Paris “Andrew Parsons says Paris has made more progress in the last seven years than any other Paralympic host city when it comes to accessibility” (2024, International Paralympic Committee)

How the Paralympic Village has been transformed with accessibility in mind. (2024, CBS News)

A Paralympic Paris “The incremental changes are more a reminder of what hasn’t been done than what has. [...] The city’s least successful venture has been an effort to distribute grant money to local businesses for ramps” (2024, Slate)

Paralympic Games: the Hellish Laundry Contract for laundry of Olympic and Paralympic athletes was won by sheltered workplaces that do not guarantee minimum wage or other labour rights. (In French, 2024, L'Humanité)

How Airbnb has paved the way for accessible stays at the Paralympics (2024, Condé Nast)

Sporting barometer ahead of the Paralympics: “58% of French people now intend to follow the Paralympic Games which will start on August 28, 16 points more than in January 2024!” (In French, 2024, ODOXA)

Gold medal for discrimination anti-ableist criticism of the Games as a pretext for “social cleansing”, broken promises on accessibility and reproduction of ableist stereotypes. (In French, 2024, Les Dévalideuses)

Ensuring total accessibility in the Paris 2024 Games

“‘Games wide open’ is the philosophy of Paris 2024, which is expecting almost 280,000 people with disabilities to visit its venues during the summer. Thanks to a wide range of accessibility solutions, everyone will be able to enjoy the Olympic and Paralympic experience to the full.” (2024, Olympics)

How The Paris Paralympics Are Driving Engineering And Accessibility Innovation “Since 2021, engineers at the aerospace group Airbus have been working with the French National Sports Agency to build better equipment for disabled athletes.” (2024, WorldCrunch)

Instructions to limit outings of psychiatric patients during the passage of the flame for so-called security reasons. (In French, 2024, Le Monde) See also from Santé Mentale.

Paris Promised the Olympics Would Be Accessible. “The city, which put inclusivity at the center of its bid, has improved access for people with disabilities, but with the opening ceremony about 12 weeks away, obstacles remain.” (2024, New York Times)

Paralympics 'shame' in lack of Metro disabled access (2024, BBC)

Paris 2024 Olympics: Slow roll-out of accessible services worries disability campaigners (2023, Le Monde)

Paris 2024: two years from the Paralympic Games, what are the challenges to be met regarding accessibility? (2022, California18)

Ahead of 2024 Olympics, Paris sponsors accessibility of neighbourhoods. (2022, The Mayor)

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Appeals, Statements and Opinion

Communication of the CNCPH on the protection and security of persons with disabilities in Ukraine (in French, 2022)

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