Budget Toolkit: France

The OECD collects and publishes granular data on DAC donors' ODA. While this data, featured in our Donor Tracker Profiles, provides the most comprehensive view of donor government ODA spending and is crucial for accountability and transparency, it provides only a past perspective. The time taken to collect and verify the information means that preliminary data are published about 3 months after the calendar year ends, and the complete and detailed data on resource flows take more than 12 months to be published.

To get a more up-to-date view on donors’ future plans and to influence ODA budgetary decisions, advocates need to look to donor budgets and their surrounding decision-making processes for insight. The majority of donors publish draft budgets and conduct negotiations in the last quarter of the calendar year before finalizing the next year’s budget. Through this series of Donor Budget Toolkits, the Donor Tracker aims to support advocates in better understanding donor budget timelines, how they translate to ODA spending, and how decision-making processes work, so they can best advocate for development cooperation in donor budgets negotiations. The series will be released over the upcoming months, in line with ongoing budget negotiations in markets tracked by the Donor Tracker.

ODA volume

How much ODA does France contribute?

France was the fourth largest DAC donor country in 2022, with total ODA amounting to US$15.9 billion. This represents a 3% increase compared to 2021, where ODA totaled US$15.5 billion, with France overtaking the UK as fourth largest donor.

When ranked by prioritization of development, France was the 10th largest donor, spending 0.56% of its GNI on ODA in 2022. In 2021, France was the 7th largest donor with 0.51% ODA/GNI.

ODA sources

What are the main sources of France's ODA?

French ODA stems from two main sources: the general budget and other sources not included in the general budget. The latter mainly includes debt relief mechanisms, contributions to the European Commission and multilateral organizations, and funding generated through the FTT (EUR528 million, or US$624 million, in 2023) and the airline ticket tax (EUR210 million, or US$248 million, in 2023).

The so-called ODA Mission is composed of the two largest ODA programs in the general budget: Program 110 of the Finance Ministry and Program 209 of the MEAE.

ODA decision-makers

Who decides on the development budget?

France has a semi-presidential representative democratic system, and its governmental structure comprises three main branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

The Executive Branch:

President: The President of France is the head of state, elected by popular vote. The President appoints the Prime Minister and has significant powers, particularly in foreign affairs and defense.

Prime Minister: The Prime Minister is the head of government, responsible for domestic policy and day-to-day administration. The Prime Minister, along with the Cabinet, plays a crucial role in the budget process.

The Legislative Branch:

Parliament: The French Parliament is bicameral, consisting of two houses - the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and the Senate (Sénat).

The budget process in France is initiated by the government. The Finance Minister, appointed by the Prime Minister, is responsible for presenting the annual budget to the National Assembly. The budget proposal includes details on government revenues, expenditures, and economic forecasts.

Members of the National Assembly review, debate, and vote on the budget proposal. While the Senate also reviews the budget, the final authority rests with the National Assembly. If there is a disagreement between the two houses, the National Assembly's decision prevails.

The Judicial Branch:

Does not directly participate in the budget process.

Key Stakeholders

ODA timeline

When and how are decisions on France's budget made?

France’s fiscal year corresponds to the calendar year.

Current Budget Impact

What does the current development budget tell us about France’s ODA?

France's ODA increased by 12.5% between 2021 and 2022, from 0.51% of GNI in 2021 to 0.56% in 2022. This increase was mostly due to a sharp increase in ODA to SSA and in-donor refugee costs. France’s ODA has been growing steadily in recent years, increasing 30% between 2019 and 2022. The increases in absolute and relative ODA are largely in line with France’s goal of reaching an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.7% in 2025. This 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 which included a milestone ODA/GNI ratio of 0.55% in 2022.

To achieve the 0.7% ODA/GNI target, the law prescribes a trajectory of 0.55% in 2022, 0.61% in 2023, and 0.66% in 2024. Despite meeting the target in 2022, the 2023 budget development is projected to lag behind targets set by the law, with total projected ODA remaining at 0.55% of GNI. While an official estimate of France’s total ODA for 2023 has not been published yet, current estimations suggest that it will amount to EUR16.1 billion (US$19 billion). This shortfall is likely due to a reduction of in-donor refugee costs, which counterbalances the expected increase of the ODA mission by EUR820 million (US$970 million) and increased contributions to the EU budget.

Next steps?

The 2024 Budget was passed by Parliament on December 30, 2024.

On January 2, 2024, France published its 2024 budget and confirmed a stable budgetary allocation of EUR5.9 billion (US$6.4 billion) to the ODA mission, which represents one-third of France's total ODA. The budget was approved via former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, using a constitutional provision which allows the Prime Minister to pass texts without a vote. Borne has used this provision 23 times, a record since the late 1980s, fueling dissatisfaction with the office.

The budget anticipates an increase in resources allocated to the ODA mission by approximately EUR500 million (US$545 million) in 2025 and 2026, for projected total mission budgets of EUR6.4 billion (US$6.9 billion) in 2025 and EUR6.9 billion (US$7.5 billion) in 2026.

The anticipated trajectory confirmed that the objective of dedicating 0.7% ODA/GNI will not be achieved by 2025, contrary to the commitments made by France in its 2021 development law. The increases are instead in line with the decision of the CICID in summer of 2023 to postpone the achievement of 0.7% ODA/GNI to 2030.