From 17 May to 27 November 2019, France had the privilege of chairing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe as the organization celebrated its 70th anniversary.
France chaired during a time of crisis for the Council. Building on the work begun by the Finnish Chairmanship, France (…)
France has a unique relationship with the Council of Europe, being its host country. The Council of Europe, the main organization defending human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, protects more than 700 million Europeans in its 46 Member States from Strasbourg. By signing the Treaty of London establishing the organization on 5 May 1949, France became one of its nine founding countries and remains to this day – 75 years after its creation – one of its four major contributors.
The Council of Europe hosts the European Court of Human Rights, whose first President was René Cassin. Since then, France has acceded to 150 Council of Europe agreements and treaties.
France warmly congratulates @alain_berset on his election as Secretary General of the Council of Europe 🇪🇺.
Statement ➡️ https://t.co/0Vs040YEHn pic.twitter.com/xfaGNrJ7Zb
— France Diplomacy 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo_EN) June 27, 2024
Robert Schuman, a French statesman and a great European, helped create the Council of Europe, while serving as France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of European integration.
René Cassin, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and UN Human Rights Prize, helped draft the European Convention on Human Rights, and was the first President of the European Court of Human Rights from 1965 to 1968.
Catherine Lalumière, Secretary General from 1989 to 1994, was the first woman to hold this position, and played a decisive role in Eastern European countries joining the Council of Europe.
Other prominent French figures also contributed to the Council of Europe’s history, including Jacques Camille Paris (first Secretary General), Jacques Chaban-Delmas (first Chair of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities) and Jean-Paul Costa (President of the European Court of Human Rights from 2007 to 2011).
The Council of Europe has its headquarters in Strasbourg, at the Palais de l’Europe, which was inaugurated in 1977. The European Court of Human Rights is also based in Strasbourg, at the Palais des Droits de l’Homme.
With the “Strasbourg, European Capital” triennal contract, the French Government works with local authorities to support the European institutions headquartered in Strasbourg, including the Council of Europe and the European Union, which are two distinct organizations.
French has always been one of the Council of Europe’s official languages, along with English.
France has always been one of the Council of Europe’s main contributors. In 2023, it contributed more than €50 million to the organization.
France has one of the largest delegations at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, with 18 representatives.
France is very involved in the Council of Europe’s work. It has ratified 146 texts, making it one of the Member States to have ratified the most. It is also part of a dozen Enlarged Partial Agreements, including the Partial Agreement establishing the European Commission for Democracy through Law, the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe and the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
The Permanent Representation of France to the Council of Europe acts as an interface between the French authorities and the Council of Europe. Since 1 August 2023, it has been headed by Pap Ndiaye, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe.
Beyond the representation of French interests in political bodies, the Permanent Representation of France to the Council of Europe supports many projects every year that boost Strasbourg’s importance:
After ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights in 1974 and recognizing the right of individual application 1981, France has continually adapted its laws in line with the Court’s requirements. It ensures compliance with the Convention at the national level, and that the Court’s judgments are swiftly and comprehensively enforced.
France fully supports the Convention system and played a key role in re-engaging heads of State and Government in favour of the Convention system as a cornerstone of human rights protection in the Council of Europe at the 4th Summit, held in Reykjavik on 16 and 17 May 2023.
Since Russia was excluded in March 2022 as a consequence of its aggression against Ukraine, the Council of Europe has had 46 Member States, including all of the EU Member States, which represent 700 million Europeans. United for justice in Ukraine, the Council of Europe plays a major role in calculating the damage caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression, while the European Court of Human Rights continues to examine the individual and inter-State applications filed against Russia, for all violations committed prior to 16 September 2022.
Lastly, the Council of Europe has progressively imposed the abolition of the death penalty on its Member States, via the Court’s case law on the right to life and through its Additional Protocol 6 (abolition in times of peace) and Protocol 13 (abolition in all circumstances). It is waging an abolitionist combat beyond the European continent, with France’s support.
Updated: July 2024
