France is a multi-party democracy whose President and Members of Parliament are elected in periodic elections on the basis of universal suffrage in elections deemed free and fair. The President exercises executive power together with the Prime Minister, who is nominated by a majority of the National Assembly. Citizens of French territories and from overseas Departments elect deputies and senators to Parliament. In 2007, general elections were held to elect a President for a 5-year term. Nicols Sarkozy from the UMP (right) was elected in the second electoral round, gaining 53.06% of the votes. In the legislative elections of the same year, the UMP obtained 49.66% of the votes and 345 seats. In September 2008, 114 senate seats were renewed; the left (PS and allies) achieved a higher percentage than expected and obtained 21 new senators. The next general elections shall be held in 2012.

Amnesty International complained in several reports about the use of excessive force to control incidents involving demonstrators or groups of youths from the suburbs. Similarly, in a document of May 2010, the United Nations Committee against Torture declared that it was particularly concerned about the persistence of complaints of ill treatment on the part of the armed forces and police. The Committee demanded that the French Government conduct a transparent and independent investigation and that those responsible were punished. Similarly, the Committee recalled that it is formally prohibited by international law to send people back to their countries, if their lives or personal security is in danger, or if they will be subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment. The Committee regretted that it had received a number of complaints of this nature regarding the conduct of the French immigration authorities.

In July 2010, the National Assembly approved a law which prohibited the Burqa from masking the face in public spaces. Any breach of this law is punishable with a fine of up to 150 Euros. The law was approved amid major controversy, it is feared that its application may give rise to abuse and humiliation against Muslim women. Many voices have been raised to say that this humiliation may lead to radicalisation of the persons affected and their close friends and family. Furthermore, the stigmatisation of the veil may provoke acts of religious intolerance when women wear it outside, at school, university or in the workplace.

In September 2010, the National Assembly approved by a short majority (75 votes to 57), the deprival of nationality of those French citizens who received it less than ten years ago and have been condemned for the murder of public authority agents. This article of the immigration bill aroused the indignation of the left, but also some members of the right.
In France, the freedom of expression of the press is respected, although in recent years some limitations, or alleged interference of the authorities in the media, have been reported, in particular with regard to the management of State television.

Public schooling is provided for free until the age of 18, and education is compulsory for citizens and non-citizens aged 6 to 16. France is among the few countries that still provide genuinely free education, whereby not only tuition but also books, transport, meals and supplies are free of charge. Nursery school and kindergarten for children under age 6 are free, widely available and widely used. Most children complete secondary education.
The separation of church and State is a deeply held value. The 1904 law also prohibits discrimination on the basis of faith.

84% of young people who attend courses for students with learning difficulties come from the most disadvantaged social groups, largely but not exclusively from immigrant families.

A 3-year programme of ECE begins at age 3. 13% of education is private at this level. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 100%. 81% of the 137,174 teachers working at this level are women. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 18:1.

Education is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Primary education starts at 6 years old and lasts for 5 years. 15% of primary education is private. The NER is 99%. 99% of children who enrol in the first grade reach the last grade of primary school. 2% of students repeat grades. There are 203,418 primary school teachers (81% women). The PTR is 19:1.

Secondary education starts at 11 years old and lasts for 7 years. At this level 25% of education is private. 25% of students in lower secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 99%. There are 510,943 secondary teachers, 252,250 (64% female) in lower secondary and 258,693 (52% female) in upper secondary. The PTR is 13:1 in lower secondary and 10: 1 in upper secondary.

Secondary education starts at 11 years old and lasts for 7 years. At this level 25% of education is private. 25% of students in lower secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 99%. There are 510,943 secondary teachers, 252,250 (64% female) in lower secondary and 258,693 (52% female) in upper secondary. The PTR is 13:1 in lower secondary and 10: 1 in upper secondary.

Education for children with disabilities is provided through integration into public schools or through programmes designed to meet special needs. Schools are adapting their infrastructure more to meet the needs of students with reduced mobility.

Discrimination is prohibited against persons with physical or mental disabilities. Companies of more than 20 employees are expected to have 6% of their work force composed of persons with special needs, or pay fines to an association that assists these people finding work. 19 per cent of people who live with a disability do not have a job, which is double the national average for the active population.

The law provides for the granting of asylum and refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the Government has established a system for providing protection for those with this status. The French government has traditionally cooperated with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees-UNHCR and other humanitarian organisations in assisting refugees and asylum-seekers. Education is provided for refugee children. According to UNHCR, in January 2010 196,000 refugees were living in France, of whom 35,200 were asylum seekers.

Situation with regard to the Roma or Gypsy community: due to a series of incidents with marginal members of the Roma community, reported in July 2010 and provoked by the death of a young man in the hands of the police, the Government has initiated a strict policy of expulsion which has received strong criticism from the European Parliament, European Council, United Nations and European Commission. Thousands of inhabitants from squatter camps saw their homes dismantled by the armed forces and the majority were expulsed to Romania and Bulgaria. Among them were a number of children who presumably had French nationality. Various human rights organisations (including Amnesty International and Human Right Watch) have pointed out that Bulgarians and Romanians are European citizens and have recalled that measures such as these violate the policies of the European Union which expressly prohibit the en masse expulsion of people of the same nationality or ethnicity. Discrimination of any nature not only impedes the full enjoyment of human rights, but represents a threat to democratic societies and their fundamental values.

The European Commission opened a proceeding against France for violation of the directives on the free circulation of persons, which was finally suspended after the Government pledged it would modify its national legislation to put it in line with that of Europe. However, Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Justice, warned that The European Commission shall continue to closely watch over developments and ensure that implementation of the commitments of the French Government are made fully in the interest of EU law and EU citizens."
The ban on collecting data based on race or religion is being questioned by member of the Government and governing party.

Reports do not indicate restrictions of academic freedom. Internet access is widely available and is unrestricted.

Women have the same legal rights as men.

In France, 18.9% of representatives of the Chamber of Deputies are women, with 21.9% of the Senate. In the IPU classification, France ranks in 64th position out of 186 countries. Political parties must have an equal number of men and women on their lists, with a divergence of two per cent allowed. Monitoring Inequalities indicates that the parties have not totally complied with the law on parity. In 2007, there were a total of 41.6% female candidates, this is barely more than in 2002 (38.9%). The Socialist Party had 45.5% female candidates and the UMP had 26%. Women were often the candidates in the most difficult constituencies. In 2010, 48% of the representatives of the regional councils were women (compared with 47.6% in 2004) although only two women were the head of a region.

Employment Discrimination and sexual harassment from those in more senior positions is banned in the workplace.

Gender Wage Gap: According to the French Ministry of Employment, in general the average wage for woman is 73% that of a man of equal experience and in an equivalent role. Women work part-time five times more than men.
In 2007 the poverty rate for women was 7.4% compared with 6.9% for men. The gap was even wider in young women and elderly women.

On average, women spend an average of 3.26 hours per day working on domestic tasks, compared with 2.01 hours for men.

Violence against women is punishable by law but in practice violence exists at home and in some workplaces. The Government supports programmes that provide assistance to women who are the victims of violence. In some regions, women who are the victims of domestic violence are given a mobile phone to make urgent calls in case they find themselves in a dangerous situation. The High Council on Integration reports that about 35,000 immigrant women are victims of female genital mutilation. Although the practice is illegal and punishable by up to 20 years in prison, girls are sent outside the country for mutilation rituals in cases that are seldom reported, only to be discovered in routine school medical examinations. From 2010, 25 civil society organisations started a campaign to make the violence that affects women more visible and ensure better support for the victims and their children.

Another of the problems is the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation. France is a destination country for trafficking victims from Eastern Europe and Africa for sexual exploitation purposes and for work in domestic service. Legislation deals with sex tourism and it apply to French citizens abroad.

Different laws and policies protect children from work exploitation. Except for children in apprenticeship programmes or those working in the entertainment industry, children under the age of 16 may not be employed in France. Minors are prohibited from performing dangerous work and cannot work between 10 pm and 5 am. One of the obligations of labour inspectors is to enforce these provisions.

The domestic exploitation of children who arrive in France with those working for the diplomatic services continues to be very worrying. These children have no outside contact, do not speak the local language, their documents are retained by their employer and they are forced to carry out domestic chores, without a salary and without access to education. The Committee against Modern Slavery (CAMS), in France continues to denounce the impunity enjoyed by the diplomats who, due to their status, are outside the jurisdiction of the French criminal courts.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions, but only 7% of the work force is unionised.

Collective bargaining is practised and about 90% of workers receive the benefits of the collective agreements that are reached. Strike action is legal except if a strike is deemed to threaten public safety. Effective labour inspection limits violations of the law that prohibits forced or compulsory labour. However, despite strict laws combating people trafficking, there are reports of the practice of forced labour among victims of trafficking. There is evidence of substandard pay and poor working conditions among undocumented immigrants.

From the outbreak of the economic crisis and before the measures adopted by the Government to reform the labour and pensions market, the French trade union movement has taken a number of measures of force (strikes and demonstrations). In particular, the education unions have resisted budgetary cuts, the suppression of job roles and measures that tend to affect the quality of public education. In particular, the intention to reform the pension age without negotiating with the unions triggered a series of demonstrations which were joined by students, reinforcing the level of the protest.

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