The Scout movement in France consists of about 80 different associations and federations with about 180,000 Scouts and Girl Guides.[1] 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 must 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 of organizations are recognized by regional or local authorities, but there are also some non-recognized associations: their operation is illegal under French law.
Contents |
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 1941 by the Eclaireurs de France, the Eclaireurs Unionistes de France, the Scouts de France, the Guides de France and the Eclaireurs Israélites de France.
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.
There are at least 50 independent Scouting associations in France outside the above mentioned federations. Most of them are recognized by regional or local authorities, some via religious communities. They have an estimated membership of about 5,000 Scouts and Guides.
Notable among them are:
The Fédération des Associations d'Anciens du Scoutisme (FAAS) is the national member of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship.
The Members of the federation are:
At the end of 1937, France sent Scoutmaster Raymond Schlemmer to the Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese areas of Indochina to oversee the setting up of the Fédération Indochinoise des Associations du Scoutisme (FIAS, Indochinese Federation of Scouting Associations) in all three regions.
The French language knows two words both for Boy Scout and Girl Guide/Girl Scout. Boy Scout is translated as scout in Catholic and Muslim associations, and as éclaireur in Protestant, Jewish and interreligious associations. Girl Guide/Girl Scout is translated as guide in the Catholic associations, and as éclaireuse in Protestant, Jewish and interreligious associations.