France Faces Backlash Over Foreign Aid Budget Cuts
(MENAFN) Close to 190 French non-governmental organizations (NGOs) raised alarms on Wednesday after the French government decided to slash €700 million from the country’s official development assistance.
Described by these groups as a “historic” decrease, the move is feared to threaten critical humanitarian programs across the globe.
The budget reduction, declared by French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on July 15, accounts for nearly 5% of the nation’s total development aid package.
It is part of a broader effort to trim €43.8 billion from public spending with the goal of lowering France’s national deficit by 2026, according to a news outlet.
“This is unprecedented,” stated Corentin Martiniault, an advocacy expert at Coordination Sud, a coalition of 188 aid organizations that includes Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) and Handicap International.
Coordination Sud cautioned that these fiscal decisions could place at risk “vulnerable populations around the world.”
The organization emphasized that French aid is essential in providing fundamental services such as medical care, safe drinking water, nourishment, and security for people living in unstable environments.
In 2024, France held the fifth position globally in terms of foreign aid contributions, trailing the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan, as per data from the OECD.
However, Martiniault warned that if the proposed reductions go ahead, “we’d be rolling back 10 years of progress.”
France’s development aid budget has already seen repeated cutbacks in 2024, including a €724 million reduction in February and the scrapping of an extra €200 million in April.
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