Scouting and Guiding in France

The Scout movement in France consists of about 80 different associations and federations with about 180,000 Scouts and Girl Guides. Next to Germany, France is the country with the most fragmented Scout movement.

According to French law, all youth organizations working on the national level can be recognized by the Ministère de la Jeunesse et des Sports (Minister of Youth and Sports). Only nine of the above-mentioned 80 organizations have this status. The vast majority are non-recognized associations: their operation is not illegal under French law, but the State doesn't support them.

The national recognized organizations are grouped in two federations and one independent organization.

The Fédération du Scoutisme Français (Federation of French Scouting) is the national member of both the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The federation has about 120,000 members grouped in five co-educational associations.

Scoutisme Français was founded in 1940, with the help of Vichy regime, by the Eclaireurs de France, the Éclaireurs unionistes de France, the Scouts de France, the Guides de France, the Éclaireurs israélites de France and the Fédération française des éclaireuses.

The Members of the federation are:

The Conférence Française de Scoutisme (French Conference on Scouting) has about 35,000 members grouped in three co-educational associations:

The Scouts Unitaires de France (Unitary Scouts of France) were founded in 1971 in reaction to a pedagogic renewal within the Scouts de France splitting the former Scout troops (unités) in two new sections and implementing coeducation. The association is Catholic and counts about 23,000 members.

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