France NGO Sector

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Overview

The history of French non-governmental organizations (NGOs), known as organisations non-governementales (ONGs), involves navigating various institutional definitions as well as sifting through time-ordered values attached to the State’s social, economic, and international interests (Archambault 1993, p. p.1; Paul 2000, Sorgenfrei 2004,p.4). As a relatively recent term coined in the aftermath of World War II, the acronym “NGO” first appeared in 1945 in the United Nations Charter[1] (Paul 2000, para. 20; Wikipedia 2008a, section history). Scholars remark that the United Nation’s definition, which differentiates NGOs “from those of government”, is broad enough to cover a multitude of associations, voluntary associations, institutes, non-profits and private foundations (Paul 2000, para. 2; Willets 2002, summary). French NGOs typically include an array of civic and internationally minded players such as mutual societies, development organizations, associations and foundations (Newman 2005).

The ideology behind France’s NGO movement traces back to the Middle Ages with religious charity groups and medieval guilds (Archambault 2001, p.205, 207). Recent scholarly activity and research, such as Edith Archambault’s work on non-profits whose outline this article follows (see mainly Archambault 2001 as well as 1993)[2], have focused on a chronologically shifting, delicate, and often hostile relationship between French state responsibility and that of associations and non-profits towards “public benefit”[3] (Newman 2005, III.B.; Archambault 1993/2001). This hostile relationship burgeoned during the French Revolution (1789-1799)[4] when government banned charitable groups founded under the ancien régime and established central French étatism, or the concentration of civil responsibility under the government’s control (Archambault 1993, p. 2/2001, p.205).

In the periods following the Revolution, the struggle between State authority and private associations continued to play out as citizen activities took on social and economic roles (Archambault 2001). During the Napoleonic Empire (1804-1814) and up until the Revolution of 1848[5] new civil society groups[6] began to form (Archambault 2001; Nord 1995; Sewell Jr. 1980). These groups, known as mutual-aid societies, provided aid (often in the form of health and funerary insurance) to various professional and working groups (Archambault 1993, p. 2/2001, p.208; Sewell Jr. 1980, p.163-164). Now seen as forefathers for current French welfare, or even labor unions, mutual-aid societies served to protect the benefit of individuals as valued citizens (Archambault 2001, p. 208; Sewell Jr. 1980, p.163).

Archambault (2001) writes that it wasn’t until the beginning of the Twentieth Century when the 1901 Law of Association (la loi de 1901) established state recognition and an organizational typography that public organizations in France began to hold ground. Following turn of the century ideals such as social, intellectual and economic solidarity labor unions, transnational health organizations, humanitarian groups and welfare societies sought greater domain (Archambault 2001, p.205; Sewell Jr. 1980; Nord 1995 [in reference specifically to freemasonry and solidarity movements]). Continuing along this trajectory, the war years and the civil activism of the 1960s resulted in greater humanitarian relief and international collectives (Sorgenfrei 2004, p.10; see Skjelsbaek 1971 for a 20th century account of international nongovernmental organizations). Sorgenfrei (2004) notes that the last three decades have seen an NGO paradigm shift with a greater focus on internationalism, leading many French NGOs to prefer new names such as International Solidarity Organizations (OSIs) (Sorgenfrei 2004, p.10). The last few decades have also seen greater cooperation between the government and French NGOs (Soregenfrei 2004, p.11; Archambault 2001, p.205).

Historical Background

Associational Life and Central Control

In 1831, the famous French political scientist Alexis De Tocqueville visited the United States and observed that associations were a key to effective democracy (Paul 2000, para. 2 middle). In his groundbreaking work that compared post-revolutionary America and France, De Tocqueville noted that American political and social organizations flourished unhindered by government, unlike in France where “heading new undertakings” was the State’s responsibility (De Tocqueville 1835/1840 p.198; Paul 2000, para. 2 middle). Although written in the 1800s, De Tocqueville’s remark highlighted the antithetical relationship between the State and the Third Sector that first took root a generation earlier during the French Revolution (see primarily Archambault 2001 regarding “étatism”).

Associated with a “paradoxical”[7] sense of freedom and rights and the concept of a strong Republican State (Cmiel 2004, para. 6, para. 50 middle; Hunt 1996, p.17), scholars write that the trend of eighteenth century thought and the French Revolution offer a particularly interesting turn of events for organizational life in France (Archambault 2001 ; see also Paul 2000, para. 2). It was during this time that interpretations of inalienable rights and the citizen began to take shape as outlined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man (Hunt 1996, p.13-16; Cmiel 2004, para. 16). Often cited as a key instrument in today’s Human Rights movement, the Declaration sets forth prescriptions for individual rights within a government that served to protect social interest, although often with disregard to certain minority groups such as women and Jews (Cmiel 2004, para. 16; Hunt 1996). Women’s circles[8] and friendly brotherhoods struggled for rights under the Declaration (Hunt 1996 24-27). In spite of the new Declaration, deciding exactly who could organize and who benefited was a decision that belonged to the government (Archambault 2001; Cmiel 2004).

Archambault (2001,p.206) notes that empowered by Republican centralism, the State absorbed responsibilities that typically belonged to the private sector or to the Church. Furthermore, the State established a monopoly over public interest when it passed the 1791 Loi Le Chapelier—a law that made private organizing illegal and dissolved guilds and charities (Archambault 2001, p.208). By the end of the century, she notes that the French government officially controlled “hospitals, asylums and schools” (Archambault 2001, p.206).

Mutual Societies, Solidarity and Humanity

Archambault (2001, p.206) notes that after the Revolution the ascension of a new Empire (1804-1814) and the onset of the Industrial Age (1815-1848) in France made way for new institutional forms which offered services where the government did not. Offering limited legitimacy for organizations, the 1810 Napoleonic Penal Code[9] kept private groups in check but allowed for some assembly in voluntary associations (Archambault 2001, p.208-209). For example, mutual-aid societies served as solidarity organizations (Archambault 2001, p.208-209). These early “workers’ corporations” offered insurance payments as well as health and funerary benefits to a society that sought increasing unity (Sewell Jr. 1980, p.10 chapter 8). And as historian William H. Sewell Jr. (1980) writes, as long as they existed to serve the public, authorities began to look to mutuals to provide services for the destitute (Sewell Jr. 1980, p. 163).

While mutual-aid societies began under the government’s strict auspice, Archambualt remarks (1993) that they soon grew into strong labor unions and insurance entities that exist in present-day France. Heavily reliant on socialist ideals, these “heirs[10] to the oldest part of the French non-profit sector” (Archambault 1993,p. 7 ) enjoyed growth from 1815 to 1848 when a resurgence of “freemasonry, health centers, and meal delivery services” also took flight (Archambault 2001, p.208). At the same time, associations increasingly gained government recognition through a series of laws beginning in the late 1860s that legitimized public “coalition”, labor unions and mutalities (Archambault 1993/2001, p. 209).

Also, a burgeoning in “humanitarian” and “democratic” (Nord 1995, p.1) groups at the turn of the century both internationally and in Europe laid the way for transnational interests and expansion of NGO activity in France.[11] Often cited as “one of the first” NGOs, the International Red Cross set the stage for humanitarian relief across Europe in the late 1800s (see Wikipedia article non-governmental organization and International Committee of the Red Cross; Sorgenfrei 2004, p.10; see also Skjelsbaek for discussion on modern transnational movement after WWII and mention of Red Cross, p.421 ). The French Red Cross, formed in 1864, joined the mission to provide relief for military wounded, supply health assistance in the field and to propagate social action (see www.croix-rouge.fr, Partnership in profile and Wikipedia article International Committee of the Red Cross). Likewise, colonization questions, women’s issues, religion, and social ferment such as the 1870 Dreyfus Affair[12] prompted a need for social activism through human leagues and Masonic intervention (Nord 1995, p.30; Archambault 2001,p.209). Thus, by the end of the Century, France was on its way toward partnering with NGO and humanitarian organizations such as the French Human Rights League (Ligue des Droits de L’Homme) (Nord 1995, p.30).

The Association Law of 1901

Archambault (2001) stresses that it was during the early Twentieth Century, when the French government fully recognized associations that the relationship between the State and the Third Sector began to shift away from hostility (Archambault 2001, p.205,208). The Association Law of 1901, which is still in effect today (Archambault 1993, p.2), establishes guidelines for legal recognition as well as State demarcation and acceptance. According to Archambault (1993/2001) and Newman (2005), the law allows for the establishment of an association comprising of “two or more persons” for any legal activity not-for-profit (Archambault 2001, p.210; Newman 2005, III.A. Associations para. 1). They write that associations may be undeclared or declared, and can exist as general interest or public utility foundations (Archambault 1993, p.9/2001, p.210; Newman 2005 see also footnote 3).

Archambault (1993/2001) notes that Declared status is granted when an organization registers with “a local authority” at a local state representative office known as a préfecture (Archambault 1993, p. 9/2001, p.210). She writes that once they are recognized declared organizations have state imposed limitations in that they can’t own real estate or inherit legacies, but they do not have to pay income and profit tax (Archambault 1993, p.9/2001, p.210).

Newman (2005) notes that a categorization between general interest status and public utility status creates a typography for non-profit and NGO organizations (Newman 2005, III.B-IV.E). She lists some general interest groups as specializing in cultural, educational, humanitarian and environmental activities (Newman 2005, III.B.1. para. 2 General Interest Status). Public utility groups also perform activities that fall under general interest and public benefit, but these organizations require special authorization from the Conseil d’Etat (Archambault 1993, p.9/2001, p.210; Newman 2005, III.B.2 Public Utility Status). Once the head of state authorizes an organization as “state-approved,” the association holds “full legal” status, including the right to legacies and property (Archambault 2001, p.210; Newman 2005, see V.A. Tax Exemptions).

Archambault (2001) notes that the importance of the Association Law of 1901 is that it opened the door for diverse French interest groups to stake claim and recognition (Archambault 2001, p.210).[13] Today, that claim reaches globally with membership into groups such as the International Federation of Human Rights (Fédération Internationale des Droits de l’Homme) (see Wikipedia article International Federation of Human Rights and http://www.fidh.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=350 section "about us" for information on FIDH).

World Wars and Transnational Outreach

While scholars note that historically the term “NGO” entered official lexicon after 1945, organizational activity between the wars did exist (Willets 2002, Intro. para. 1). Archambault (2001) writes that in France World War I served as a “turning point” for French “relief organization” (Archambault 2001, p.211). For example, she notes that the Red Cross flourished and provided for war victims, and mutual-aid societies struggled to dominate insurance (Archambault 2001, p.211). And while the French government still held control of social aid, charity groups worked to combat inflation, sickness and poverty (Archambault 1993/2001, p.211-212). The period between the wars also saw a rise in immigration, which brought new social interests and organizations to France with immigrant groups forming (Archambault 1993 p.12/2001, p.211).

World War II briefly halted associational life with repression from the interim Vichy government (1940-1944), but this repression was short-lived (Archambault 2001, p.212). At the end of World War II organizations and advocates sought to demonstrate influence in the newly established United Nations (Willets 2002, Intro para. 1). In particular, Pendergast (1976) writes that the French looked to establish the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and thus “cultural relations”, in the heart of Paris (Pendergast 1976, p.453-456). Pendergast writes that these activists argued that the siege of advocacy was in Paris where NGOs would work for the ‘development of culture’, promote ‘universal solidarity,’ and establish an arena for ‘intellectual cooperation’ (Pendergast 1976, p.455 - 456).

Development NGOs also saw a proliferation after World War II, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s (Archambault 2001, p.215; Sorgenfrei 2004, p.10). These groups responded to decolonization efforts in Africa and promoted resurgence in Catholic charity groups (Archambault 2001, p.214) marking a path for modern day organizations such as, Sorgenfrei (2004) notes, the Catholic Committee Against Hunger and For Development (Comité Catholique contre la Faim et pour le Dévelopment) and Brothers of Men (Frères des Hommes) (Sorgenfrei 2004, p.10; Cohen 2004,p.2). Solidarity movements, such as the 1968 student riots,[14] fortified public concern for civic issues such as feminism and environmentalism, but also provoked the State (Archambault 2001, p. 215). Nevertheless, Archambault (2001) writes, the 1970s and 1980s, and the advent of the 1982 Decentralization Act (La loi de la décentralization de 1982)[15], spurred alliances with a government that bolstered France’s “social economy” through “subsidies, fiscal incentives and tax-deductions” for non-profits and other associations (Archambault 2001, p.216).

France, NGOs and Globalization Today

Recognizing “a million associations” namely in the humanitarian, development, environmental and human rights sectors, the French government today has expressed interest in open dialogue and partnerships with NGOs (see Ministry of Youth, Sports and Associational Life webpage un cadre institutionnel rénové on associations.gouv.fr, para. 1; Levitte 2005, p.1; and D’Orfeuil 2005 Non Governmental Cooperation, Newsletter no 1, p.2).[16] Newman writes that reinforcing this partnership through a charter signed on July 1, 2001, the State recognizes a place for NGOs within the French national ethos and mutually commits to “‘greater solidarity’” (Newman, New Relations Between the French State and NGOs The “State Association Charter”, para. 1; see also un cadre institutionnel rénové on associations.gouv.fr). The government also hopes to foster and “support” the “associative sector” and “valorize benevolent activity” (associations.gouv.fr, La politique associative de l’Etat see reference to the minister of Youth and Associative Sports, Jean-François Lamour, and government politics; see also Newman, New Relations for more on government relations).

On the home front, French NGOs such as Forum Réfugiés and Cimade are reaching out to North African and other immigrant and refugee populations to offer legal services, shape asylum policies and promote advocacy (see http://www.forumrefugies.org/ section Who are We?; see http://www.cimade.org/ section mission; Sorgenfrei 2004, p.4). Outside of France, this reach continues in the hopes of extending French democratic ideals and public services to countries and civil causes in need of educational and development assistance (see NGO/Non-Governmental Organization at http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr , see Cohen 2004 for an alternate view on French reach and its limitations, p.4-5).

Thus, despite a rocky history , scholars report that NGOs in France have established footing. New concerns over globalization and decentralization are changing the role NGOs play both in France and abroad (Archambault 2001, p.218). Remarking that the State is still vigilant but no longer hostile, scholars note the French government is becoming more and more open to a cooperative relationship between the third sector (Archambault 2001, p.205, 218, Sorgenfrei 2004, p.11).


Notes

  1. ↑ It is often noted that the term NGO appears in chapter 10, article 71 of the United Nations Charter and refers to both international and national organizations that hold special consultation status (Paul 2000, para. 20; Wikipedia 2008a, section History and Consultative Status, section History).
  2. ↑ Since scholars remark that few studies have been conducted outlining the NGO movement in France as a whole (Archambault 2001, p.204, Sorgenfrei 2004, p.7), this historical background closely follows the chronological look at associations and the Third Sector offered by political scientist Edith Archambault. Researchers such as Sorgenfrei (2004, p.7) remark at the limited research in the field and refer to Archambault’s work (referring to Archambault, 1996) as offering an essential account of France’s non-profit sector and its relationship with French centralism (see Archambault 2001). Archambault breaks down the historical movement into “long term trends” dating from the Revolution to the early 1900s, the World Wars and modern times (Archambault 2001, p.204; 1993).
  3. ↑ In her breakdown of French organizations for the Council on Foundations, Caroline Newman writes about “public benefit” when referring to the responsibility of associations as well as foundations. (Newman 2005, III.B).
  4. ↑ The French Revolution marks a break from France’s traditional past of absolute monarchy and church rule. It is the beginning of France’s modern period where a new Republicanism introduced political and social ideals for democracy and citizenry (see Hunt 1984/1996 and Nord 1995 for discussion on citizenry, democracy and French Republicanism 1995).
  5. ↑ The Revolution of 1848 was a reaction against empirical rule and a call to return to Republicanism. The Third Republic following this time supported strong labor movements that believed in worker’s solidarity and rights (Nord 1995; Archambault 2001).
  6. ↑ According to Willets (2002) civil society groups can be defined outside of government and as people’s “processes” and “activities” (Glossary Civil Society). Sewell Jr. (1980) defines mutual aid societies in France as groups that voluntarily offered services for workers (Sewell Jr. 1980, p.163). Other civil society groups included fraternal orders, trade unions and friendly societies (Archambault 2001)
  7. ↑ In his work, Cmiel (2004) notes that some of today’s historians, such as Lynn Hunt and Joan Scott (whose book, Only Paradoxes to Offer, is Cmiel’s reference), take an academic stance toward the concept of rights and revolution and focus on the “paradox” between revolutionary “rhetoric” and activism (Cmiel 2004, para. 16, para. 50 middle). In The French Revolution and Human Rights, for example, Hunt (1996) explores paradoxes between the types of rights the “emergency government” either “extended” or was “suppressing” (Hunt 1996, p.17).
  8. ↑ Archambault (2001) does write that in the early 19th Century certain charities that were “run by the middle class” were “authorized” (Archambault 2001, p.208). She references in particular Agulhon (1973) and names these organizations as “recreational clubs called circles” (Archambault 2001, p.208). For a discussion on women’s clubs, see Hunt, Lynn (1984). Politics, Culture and Class in the French Revolution
  9. ↑ The Napoleonic code, established in 1804, offered a series of civil legal codes by which French society under Napoleon Bonaparte respected the law (see Wikipedia article Napoleonic Code para.1). Archambault (2001) writes that the 1810 penal code, or criminal code, made it illegal for an association of more than 20 people to organize without the State’s authority (Archambault 2001, p.208).
  10. ↑ Archambault (2001) traces a lineage between “charitable organizations” that appeared in France during the Middle ages and guilds, both of which she calls “ancestors” to “mutual societies” and with guilds predating “unions and professional organizations” (Archambualt 2001, p.207).
  11. ↑ In her work, Sorgenfrei (2004) dates the rise of humanitarian NGOs in France to the 1970s with the Red Cross being the “only organization of this kind in France” before that time.(p.10)
  12. ↑ In 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a prominent Jewish military officer, was wrongfully accused of national treason (see Wikipedia Article Alfred Dreyfus for more information). It was a national affair that involved universal questions such as freedom of religion and human rights to the extent that it spurred reaction from intellectuals as well as the populace (Nord 1995, p30.)
  13. ↑ While Archambault (2001) states that, at the time, the 1901 law allowed nonprofits to “legalize,” she also claims that “few new social movements were observed.” (p.210). Instead, she points to World War I as “a turning point for the nonprofit sector in other ways.” (Archambault 2001, p.211).
  14. ↑ The 1968 student riots, known as the May riots, brought together students, unions and the working class to rally against central control in the administration and under De Gaulle, leading to strikes, sit-ins and political slogans to defend the day’s social, educational and political causes (See Wikipedia article May 1968 para.1 for an overview of the events). Archambault (2001) states that associations at the time focused on protecting the environment, feminist rights (including the issues of birth control and abortion) and international development (Archambault 2001, p.215).
  15. ↑ See Archambault’s 1993 work, Defining the Nonprofit Sector: France for a detailed breakdown of the 1982 Decentralization Act.
  16. ↑ In a Tribune for the July 2005 online newsletter of the Embassy of France to the United States, Henri Rouille d’Orfeuil wrote about four types of French NGOs—“humanitarian action, development aid, defense of human rights, and defense of the environment” (d’Orfeuil, 2005 in Non-Governmental Cooperation, Newsletter n.1).

References

This article was originally an article prepared for the NGO Handbook by Lisa M. Le Fevre, titled, French NGOS: A Historical Background.

Archambault, Edith. “Defining the Nonprofit Sector: France.” Working Papers of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, no. 7, edited by L.M. Salamon and H.K. Anheier. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, 1993.

Archambault, Edith. “Historical Roots of the Nonprofit Sector in France.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, vol. 30, no.2 (2001): 204-220.

Cmiel, Kenneth. “The Recent History of Human Rights.” The American Historical Review, vol. 109, issue 1. (2004). http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/109.1/cmiel.html (accessed August 31, 2006).

Cohen, Samy. “A Model of its Own? State-NGO Relations in France”. U.S.-France Analysis Series, The Brookings Institution (January 2004), http://www.brookings.edu/usfrance/analysis/index.htm.

De Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. Edited and abridged by Richard D. Hefner. New York, New York: New American Library, 1956.

Hunt, Lynn. Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley, LA: University of California Press. 1984.

Hunt, Lynn. The French Revolution and Human Rights. Boston, MA: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1996.

Levitte, Jean-David – Editorial. Embassy of France to the United States, Non Governmental Cooperation Newsletter no. 1 (July 2005) (http://www.ambafrance-us.org)

Newman, Caroline. “France Country Information.” Council on Foundations (June 2005), http://www.usig.org/countryinfo/france.asp (accessed August 31, 2006).

Newman, Caroline. “New Relations Between the French State and NGOs The “State Association Charter” (http://www.icnl.org)

Nord, Philip. The Republican Moment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.

Orfeuil, Henri Rouille, Coordination Sud, Colaition of French NGO’s. Embassy of France to the United States, Non Governmental Cooperation Newsletter no. 1 (July 2005) (http://www.ambafrance-us.org)

Paul, James A. “NGOs and Global Policy-Making.” Global Policy Forum (June 2004), http://www.globalpolicy.org (accessed August 31, 2006).

Pendergast, William R. “UNESCO and French Cultural Relations 1945-1970”. International Organization, vol. 30, no. 3 (1976): 453-483. http://www.jstor.org (accessed September 15, 2006).

Sewell, William H. Jr. Work and Revolution in France – The Language of Labor from the Old Regime to 1848. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1980.

Skjelsbaek, Kjell. “The Growth of International Nongovernmental Organization in the Twentieth Century.” International Organization Vol. 25, No. 3, Transnational Relations and World Politics (Summer, 1971), Cambridge University Press, pp. 420-442. http://www.jstor.org (first accessed in 2006 and again on July 2, 2007).

Sorgenfrei, Mia. “Capacity Building from a French Perspective.” Praxis Papers No. 1 (2004): 1-38.

Willets, Peter. “What is a Non-Governmental Organization?” UNESCO Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems Section 1 Institutional and Infrastructure Resource Issues (January 4 2002 [first pub.November 21, 2001]), http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/p.willetts/CS-NTWKS/NGO-ART.HTM (accessed August 31, 2006).

External Links and Links Referenced

Cimade (http://www.cimade.org/)

Embassy of France to the United States, Non Governmental Cooperation Newsletter no. 1 (July 2005) (http://www.ambafrance-us.org)

France Diplomatie, NGO/Non-Governmental Organization (http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr)

French Ministry of Youth, Sports and Associational Life (http://www.associations.gouv.fr)

Forum Réfugiés (http://www.forumrefugies.org/)

International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) (http://www.fidh.org) see about us

Newman, Caroline Loussouarn. “New Relations Between the French State and NGOs The “State Association Charter.” (http://www.icnl.org)

The French Red Cross, Partnership in profile 2002-2003 (http://www.ifrc.org/docs/profiles/frprofile.pdf)

Wikipedia article, International Committee of the Red Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internationa_Comittee_of_the_Red_Cross)

Wikipedia article, International Federation of Human Rights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Federation_of_Human_Rights)

Wikipedia article, Alfred Dreyfus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Dreyfus)

Wikipedia article, May 1968 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1968)

Wikipedia article, Napoleonic Code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Code)

Wikipedia. 2008a. Non-governmental organization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGO). February 4, 2008.

Wikipedia France, Organisation non-gouvernementale (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation-non-gouvernementale).

Wikipedia France, Principales ONG français (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principales_ONG_fransaises)

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