Despite ambitious rhetoric from leaders like Tony Estanguet, president of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, France remains far from meeting its goals for the inclusion of people with disabilities. Addressing 4,400 athletes at the Paralympics opening ceremony, Estanguet called for a societal shift to ensure full inclusion, echoing demands from disability advocates.
Recent reports from the UN and the Council of Europe have underscored France’s persistent deficiencies in accessibility and educational support for people with disabilities. The much-anticipated National Disability Conference (CNH), intended to set a new course, has been criticized for its lack of ambition. The Handicaps collective, representing 54 associations, chose to boycott the CNH, condemning it as insufficiently progressive.
Arnaud de Broca, president of the collective, highlighted the inadequate attention given to the needs of France’s 11 million people with disabilities and their nine million carers. The current policies, he argues, remain too paternalistic and fail to recognize the rights and agency of disabled individuals. Pascale Ribes of APF France Handicap and Jean-Louis Garcia of APAJH also voiced concerns over the slow pace of meaningful change in disability policy.
