As assessments of Emmanuel Macron's two terms as president have begun to be drawn up, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has delivered a harsh verdict, backed by many examples. In a report entitled "France: Dropping Out of Democracy," which was made public on Thursday, September 25, the international organization warned of increasingly frequent violations of the rule of law.

"For several years France has been experiencing a profound, structural deterioration in the environment in which civil society can speak out and act, accompanied by a worrying setback for public freedoms, particularly freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly," states the investigative report, which was co-signed by the Human Rights League (LDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).

According to the FIDH, since 2017, the government has continuously undermined intermediary civil society bodies and armed itself with ever more powerful tools for control and coercion. This has taken place over a succession of crises: the "Yellow Vest" crisis, in 2018-2019; protests against a contentious pension reform, in 2020 and 2023; demonstrations against the construction of massive water reservoirs in western France in 2023-2024; and the movement of solidarity with Gaza, since October 2023, among others.

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