This project focuses on enhancing employment, education, and social inclusion in France through the European Social Fund (ESF). It supported underserved groups, such as women, youth, migrants and the Roma community, by promoting access to decent work, life-long learning and inclusive access to services. Key actions included supporting female and rural entrepreneurship, funding affordable childcare and supporting initiatives like Espaces Métiers Aquitaine to improve career guidance. The ESF also enabled adaptation of programmes and innovative responses to regional and local realities. Despite progress, challenges in migrant integration and access to healthcare prompted policy adjustments for the 2021–27 cycle. Another project in France focuses on integrating social innovation into the ESF national operational programme.
Strengthening employment and social inclusion in France
Abstract
France is one of the leading countries in the social economy. The 2014 Law on the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), which regulates social economy entities, principles and governance, includes a definition of social innovation. Article 15 of the Law describes social innovation as a project developed by one or more enterprises offering products or services that address unmet or inadequately met social needs and/or use innovative methods. This Law also led to the establishment of an advisory body, the High Council on the SSE (Conseil Supérieur de L'Économie Sociale et Solidaire; CSESS) in 2014, and ESS France in 2017, which is recognised as the French Chamber of the SSE. ESS France brings together national SSE entities, Regional Chambers of the SSE (Chambres Régionales de l'Économie Sociale et Solidaire; CRESS), and other legal organisations within the SSE ecosystem such as the Société Coopérative et Participative (SCOP). To further support the development of the SSE, a specific delegation has been housed under the Directorate General of the Treasury within the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Digital Technology since 2016 (OECD, 2023[1]).
In 2017, the CSESS proposed a grid to characterise social innovation, in line with the definition introduced by the 2014 Law. This grid aims to facilitate social innovation’s recognition as a distinct innovation and ease access to traditional support and funding schemes. The grid used 20 criteria divided into three categories: social needs and stakeholder involvement, other positive effects, and experimentation and risk-taking (Avise, 2024[2]).
The Agence d'Ingénierie et de services pour entreprendre autrement (Avise), a non-profit organisation, is the Intermediary Body of the national ESF programme 2014-20 in France, also in charge of social innovation calls. Avise is responsible for initiating calls for projects to fund social innovation activities, including scaling up, providing tools and offering assistance for nationwide support programmes (Avise, 2024[3]). During the 2014-20 programming period, France received EUR 10.7 billion in ESF funding – including both EU and national co-financing – to support social inclusion, employment, and vocational training, as well as fostering crisis repair and resilience (European Commission, 2025[4]).
The ESF+ is mainly composed of two workstreams implemented at national level and one workstream managed at regional level. At national level, the Managing Authority is the Ministry of Labour, Health and Solidarity. The Ministry oversees the "European Support for Food Aid" and "Employment, Inclusion, Youth, Skills" programmes, the latter in coordination with Avise and the Departmental Councils. Regional Councils are responsible for the implementation of 17 programmes at the regional level, as shown in Figure 1.
Source: Authors’ own elaboration based on information provided by France.
In France, assessment of the implementation of the 2014-20 ESF and the prospects for 2021-27 identified three social needs to be addressed: access to employment, education and social inclusion. Decent work is highlighted as an important tool for social inclusion. This is particularly relevant in France, where 72% of women are involuntary part-time workers. Education—in particular lifelong learning and training—helps to prevent skills from becoming obsolete and ensure reskilling to adapt to labour market changes and shifts. Promoting social inclusion for vulnerable groups, including migrants and the Roma community, is a priority, along with access to employment and healthcare.
Significant improvements were made in enhancing employment opportunities for both women and youth. For example, the report highlights that ESF funding contributed to increased support for female entrepreneurs, with their representation rising from approximately 15% to 20%. Support extended to entrepreneurs in rural areas of France. Additionally, by funding affordable childcare and babysitting services, the projects helped demonstrate that motherhood need not be a barrier to career development, but rather a complementary aspect of a woman’s professional ambitions. The funding also played a catalytic role in financing more resource-intensive programmes aimed at school children, such as Espaces Métiers Aquitaine. This initiative focuses on raising awareness about career paths and improving career guidance systems for a wide audience, including students, young adults, job seekers, employees, families, and employers. The service is free, anonymous, and open, aiming to enhance the accessibility of services in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Each local reception and information centre operates under a coordinator responsible for managing resource centres and developing career action plans in collaboration with local stakeholders.
Several specific objectives proved difficult to achieve, particularly those related to the integration of migrants. In some neighbourhoods with high concentrations of migrant populations, significant barriers to employment and employability persist, and many proposed policies were only partially implemented. In response, the 2021–2027 cycle introduced measures such as doubling the required hours of French language courses for newcomers to 400 hours, to improve their chances in the job market by strengthening language proficiency. Although France is known for its comprehensive healthcare system, the report notes that 18% of citizens still encounter obstacles in accessing healthcare. As a result, the next programming cycle will continue to prioritise improving the proximity and accessibility of healthcare services, with a focus on reducing inequalities in both access and health outcomes.
In general, the ESF funding allowed for programmes to be oganised and implemented, and on a large scale. It also enabled programmes to respond to the specific needs of regions in France through financing innovative initiatives, particularly in areas of access to employment for women and youth.
References
[3] Avise (2024), Funding Social Innovation, https://www.avise.org/funding-social-innovation.
[2] Avise (2024), The main social innovation challenges in France, https://www.avise.org/main-social-innovation-challenges-france.
[4] European Commission (2025), Cohesion Open Data Platform - France, https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/countries/FR/14-20.
[1] OECD (2023), “Country Fact Sheet: France”, https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-sub-issues/social-economy-and-social-innovation/country-fact-sheets/country-fact-sheet-france.pdf (accessed on 26 March 2025).
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