Gender Care in France

In 2022, the French Académie nationale de médecine published a press release calling for great caution regarding medical interventions for young people with gender dysphoria, emphasizing psychotherapeutic support and attention to the possibility of detransition.

Académie nationale de médecine

In 2022, the French Académie nationale de médecine published a press release calling for great caution regarding medical interventions for young people with gender dysphoria, emphasizing psychotherapeutic support and attention to the possibility of detransition.

Legal framework

Since 2016, France has had a legal procedure for changing one's legal sex designation without requiring sterilization or medical intervention. A ban on conversion therapy was adopted in 2022.

Parliamentary debates

In 2024 and 2025, several bills were introduced concerning age limits for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors.

What the Académie wrote

In February 2022, the Académie described a phenomenon with epidemic characteristics and pointed to the sharp increase in the number of young people, especially girls, presenting with gender dysphoria. It referred to the role of social media and peers, warned about the irreversible consequences of hormones and surgeries, and recommended psychological support for the child and parents for as long as possible. The Académie is an advisory body; its position is not binding on doctors.

Senate and bill

A group of Les Républicains senators published a report on care for minors in March 2024. In May 2024, the Senate passed a bill banning cross-sex hormones and surgeries for minors and subjecting puberty blockers to strict conditions. The Assemblée nationale did not pass the bill, so it did not become law. In France, critical views have also been expressed by the Observatoire La Petite Sirène, a group of doctors, psychologists, and other professionals.

HAS recommendations

The Haute Autorité de Santé, France's healthcare quality authority, worked for years on recommendations for transgender healthcare. In July 2025, it published recommendations for adults. It excluded care for minors from those recommendations; a separate opinion on that subject will follow. Until then, France has no national guideline for young people, and specialized hospital teams, including those in Paris, determine their own approach.

Legal procedure

The 2016 law removed the medical requirements but did not introduce self-identification. Anyone wishing to change their registered sex must submit a request to the court and demonstrate through factual evidence that they live as and are known as the other sex. The procedure is open to adults and to minors who have been declared legally competent. Information on how other countries regulate this can be found under policies by country.