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August 5, 2026
In its recent report on private philanthropy funding, France’s Senate reaffirms philanthropy’s vital role in democracy. However, at the same time a focus on the “encroachment of influence strategies” reflects a wider European trend to constrain civil society’s ability to influence public policy, warns Laurence Lepetit, CEO of France générosités and vice president of EFA.
On 7 July 2026, the French Senate’s inquiry commission on the private financing of public policy adopted its report after six months of work, 66 sessions, and 102 hearings, among them a joint hearing with Philea, EFA and ERNOP on 12 May. The commission was launched in response to concern over coordinated, ideologically driven funding strategies operating under the guise of philanthropy, most notably a network of foundations linked to a French businessman openly promoting a right-wing and far-right political agenda. The commission’s 32 recommendations aim to tighten transparency around private funding while explicitly preserving philanthropy’s role in democratic life.
A clear recognition of philanthropy
The inquiry commission explicitly recognises philanthropy’s contribution to funding the public interest, social innovation, and democracy. The commission does not question philanthropy’s legitimacy. The senators conclude that the existing legal framework for associations, foundations, and endowment funds is broadly sound. Their recommendations follow one consistent line: apply existing law better, rather than overburden it with new procedures. The commission pointed to the necessity of investing in human resources and tools for oversight bodies, training for public administrations and auditors, better information-sharing between government departments, improved sector statistics, and a sanctions regime that scales with the severity of the breach. It also proposes consolidating France’s foundation categories into four broad types and easing access to public-benefit foundation status. Endowment funds (fonds de dotation) draw the sharpest attention, with specific recommendations on governance and on dissolving inactive structures.
A neutrality injunction that reflects a broader European trend
The commission devotes an entire section to what it calls the “encroachment of influence strategies” on public policy, which it attributes to the opacity of certain private structures, and asks whether such funding is compatible with the impartiality expected of public action, with democratic oversight, and with the objectives of public policy itself. While this line of questioning stems from a legitimate concern for transparency, it echoes a broader, already documented trend: the growing pressure on civil society organisations to demonstrate political neutrality.
This ambiguity is not unique to France. Across Europe, civil society organisations seeking public or private funding are increasingly required to prove either that they have no political agenda, or that the one they have is compatible with public policy. This tension is visible even within the European Commission itself, where NGOs have faced pressure to soften how they describe their own advocacy work.[1] The same underlying issue shows up in different forms depending on the institution, but the direction is the same.
Institutional dialogue
While the report affirms philanthropy’s democratic role, keeps the current legal framework mostly intact, and prioritises enforcement over new rules, the commission has not taken up the sector’s recommendation of better structuring dialogue between national representative bodies and public authorities. It cites foreign models, Italy’s and the UK’s in particular, but fails to propose a permanent body for consultation between the state and philanthropy’s representatives. Better dialogue would help both sides understand each other, anticipate risks, and build regulation that holds up over time, something French actors have been advocating for some time.
Taken together, the report is good news for philanthropy’s legitimacy, yet challenging associations’ and foundations’ capacity to shape public policy is particularly worrying when civic space is already closing in across Europe.
Laurence Lepetit
[1] Louise Guillot, Florence Autret, “ONG: cachez ce lobbying que Bruxelles ne saurait voir,” Contexte, July 2026.
