How is French ODA changing?

Until 2023, France’s ODA had been growing steadily. The increases in absolute and relative ODA were largely in line with France’s goal of reaching an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.7% in 2025. That goal was pledged by President Macron in 2017, and later enshrined in the landmark Programming Law for Solidarity-based Development and the Fight Against Global Inequalities adopted in 2021.

With fiscal tightening, that target of 0.7% ODA / GNI has been delayed; the July 2023 CICID extended the 0.7% target until 2030. Most recently, the target was not mentioned in the communiqué of the Presidential Council for International Partnerships, which took place in April 2025.

The French government is reportedly considering a EUR40 billion (US$43 billion) cut to public spending in 2026, aimed at areas such as general budget, local authorities, and social security, furthering the trend of fiscal tightening.

France's US$15.1 billion of ODA in 2023 was 0.48% of GNI, compared to 0.56% in 2022. According to ONE, this is the biggest decrease in volume since 2007. In 2024, French ODA further decreased, reaching US$15.4 billion or 0.49% of GNI. The 2025 Finance Act included a 39% reduction in budget appropriations for the ODA mission, representing a decrease of nearly EUR2.3 billion (US$2.5 billion) from 2024 to 2025. By 2027, French ODA is expected to fall to US$11.4 billion or 0.40% of GNI

France has pioneered innovative financing mechanisms, such as the FTT and an airline tax, to fund multilateral development priorities, namely health and climate organizations. Revenues raised by both the FTT and the airline tax mobilize EUR738 million ( US$777 million) every year for multilateral assistance, disbursed through the Solidarity Fund. France has also taken the lead in advocating for the use of SDRs to increase overall ODA, committing to redirect 30% of its SDR allocation to the African continent. However, the 2025 budget cancelled the link between the Development Solidarity Fund and revenues from the financial transaction tax and the airline tax, as this revenue is increasing and the government sought to keep it for the general budget. There is now a program called the Solidarity Fund with a fixed budget to fund Gavi, via IFFM, the Global Fund, and UNITAID. NGOs are fighting for the reinstatement of the Development Solidarity Fund, with a proposal for its reinstatement tabled in April 2025.

Macron is dedicated to pushing through the legacy of the 4Ps, which was held in June 2023. The agenda is closely linked to reforms to the international financial architecture.

Macron has been a champion for the G20 goal of reallocating US$100 billion in SDRs from HICs to LICs and MICs, a goal which had been surpassed, totaling US$108 billion. France has reallocated 40% of its SDRs, or approximately US$7.5 billion.

During his second term, Macron has continued to promote multilateralism and engage France on global issues, while taking steps to renew the nature and modalities of France’s partnership with the African continent. With the Russian war in Ukraine dominating the political agenda, France will likely focus multilateral engagement on increased defense and security cooperation, energy independence, as well as humanitarian assistance, including to countries affected by the global food supply crisis.

France continues to strongly engage on the international scene, including an increased focus on defending French and EU interests abroad. France hosted the Gavi investment case on June 20, 2024, a major initiative for children during the Olympic Games in July 2024, and hosted the AI Action Summit in February 2025 and the Nutrition for Growth Summit in March 2025.

Defense has been an increasing priority, with strong continued commitment to Ukraine and an emphasis on industrial, food, and energy independence. In a solemn speech to the French people in March, Macron warned Europe to prepare for reduced US support and a potential Russian threat beyond Ukraine, and called for a budgetary reform to boost military spending amid rising threats. He called for a target of 3% of GDP for defense spending. The allocated budget would thus rise from EUR60 ( US$63 billion) to EUR88 ( US$93 billion).