A collective of citizens, jurists, and civil society actors is urging the French government to include overseas territories in the European Social Charter, from which nearly 3 million people have been excluded for over 50 years. This exclusion, labeled a 'colonial clause,' violates the principle of the Republic's indivisibility and international human rights law. The signatories highlight severe social challenges in these territories, where protection should be strongest under the equalization principle.
The European Social Charter, adopted in 1961 and ratified by France in 1973, revised in 1996, enshrines fundamental rights to work, education, health, housing, social protection, and non-discrimination. It forms the foundation of social rights in Europe. Yet, the eleven inhabited overseas territories, spread across five continents and four oceans, have been excluded for over 50 years, affecting nearly 3 million people.
United by jurist Sabrina Cajoly, the signatories—including jurists, political leaders, researchers, academics, artists, unionists, and civil society actors from overseas territories, mainland France, Europe, and beyond—denounce this silent inequality at the heart of the Republic and Europe. The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH), in a September 2024 statement, deemed this situation contrary to the French Constitution and international law.
This provision maintains structural inequality among French citizens based on residence. These populations, which contribute immensely to France and Europe's wealth, face mass unemployment, persistent poverty, high living costs, unequal access to healthcare and public services, water access challenges, and environmental harm. The imbalance fosters a deep sense of injustice and contempt.
The consequences are concrete: in 2025, it led to rejecting a claim on drinking water access and chlordecone pollution in the Antilles, and excluding overseas territories from a European report on the cost-of-living crisis. The report portrays France as an 'example of good practices,' overlooking poverty rates five to fifteen times higher than in mainland France, where populations battle exorbitant prices.
