France Amplifies Social and Solidarity Economy Initiatives with November 2025 Events and Strategic Plans
France highlights social and solidarity economy in November 2025 through global forums, regional strategies, and campaigns promoting inclusive employment and cooperative growth.
- • The 7th Global Forum on ESS in Bordeaux emphasized ESS as an economy of peace and sustainable development amid funding challenges.
- • The 18th Mois de l'ESS 2025 and solidarity finance week promoted social economy's national role and financial inclusion.
- • Regional congress in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur advanced ESS integration into economic policy and cooperative support initiatives.
- • Campaigns around disability employment and cooperative democracy underscored inclusive and ecological economic transitions.
Key details
In November 2025, France actively spotlighted its social and solidarity economy (ESS) through major events, strategic launches, and focused campaigns, emphasizing its vital role in promoting economic justice, ecological balance, and inclusive employment.
The 7th Global Forum on Social and Solidarity Economy held in Bordeaux from October 29 to 31 attracted around 7,800 participants from 109 countries. Culminating in the Bordeaux Declaration, the forum underlined the resilience of ESS amid crises and its contribution to reducing inequalities. Benoît Hamon, president of ESS France, characterized ESS as a "peace economy," contrasting it with dominant capitalist and technological forces that threaten democracy. However, funding remains a critical challenge; ESS receives only 16 billion euros compared to 200 billion euros for traditional businesses, a disparity that Pierre Hurmic, mayor of Bordeaux, warned may worsen due to planned 2026 public budget cuts (Source 131231).
November also marked the 18th edition of the Mois de l'ESS, promoted by regional chambers (CRESS) to highlight ESS's economic significance. In 2024, ESS accounted for 2.6 million jobs, 67% held by women, spanning sectors like social action, sports, arts, financial services, and education. Parallel campaigns included the Week of Solidarity Finance (Nov 10-16), organized by FAIR, to inform the public about the societal benefits of solidarity savings, and the 29th European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities (Nov 17-23), advocating equality in employment (Source 131230).
Regionally, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur congress for SCOP and SCIC cooperatives focused on integrating ESS into economic frameworks. Agnès Rossi, regional ESS delegate, highlighted ESS’s weight—13% of private jobs and 16% of the region’s GDP—and introduced the “1 euro for 1 euro” initiative to support cooperative business transmission. Franck Maillé, head of URSCOP Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Corsica, emphasized the movement's democratic governance and alignment with ecological and social transitions, setting the stage for the upcoming national congress in 2026 (Source 131236).
Together, these events and strategies reinforce France's commitment to expanding the social and solidarity economy, addressing its funding challenges, and promoting inclusive growth through cooperative and solidarity finance models.