France, one of the founding members of the United Nations, has consistently provided strong support for multilateralism and has demonstrated its deep commitment to the values upheld by the organisation.
It is also one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, which grants it veto power. France has used this power very sparingly — 18 times since 1945, most recently in 1989, 37 years ago.
A major contributor to the United Nations
Financially, France is a major contributor, ranking 6th out of 193 countries, with a 3.45% share of the regular budget of the UN Secretariat, set at $3.4 billion for 2026.
On February 12, 2026, France paid in full its contribution to the 2026 regular budget, amounting to $123.6 million.
The regular budget is funded through mandatory contributions from Member States. Additional financial support comes from voluntary contributions.
France has also consistently provided financial support to peacekeeping operations (it is the 6th largest global contributor, with a contribution of €205 million).
In 2025, France allocated $480 million to humanitarian aid, including $240 million channelled through UN agencies, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In 2024, the total amount stood at $748 million.
A supplier to the United Nations
In 2024, 31 agencies or entities within the UN system procured goods and services from French companies for a total of $764.7 million. The main UN client of France is UNICEF, with approximately $244.8 million in purchases.
In 2023, three French companies ranked among the top 10 European suppliers to the UN. In 2024, only Sanofi remained in the ranking of the ten leading global suppliers.
A presence on French territory
The activities of international organisations represent 1% of the GDP of the Île-de-France region, with an overall economic contribution estimated at €4.8 billion, according to a study by Paris Capitale Économique.
According to this source, these figures place Greater Paris at the same level as New York City (€4.3 billion) and Geneva (€6.7 billion) in terms of the economic impact of international organizations.
In Paris, 1,403 UN employees live, work, and contribute to the local economy, including 1,218 at the headquarters of UNESCO.
In December 2024, the World Health Organization inaugurated the WHO Academy in Lyon, a center that permanently employs 37 people. By 2028, the Academy aims to train three million health workers — including nurses, clinicians, and midwives — as well as 900 senior decision-makers and 13,000 public health officials.
In 2027, UN-Habitat will open a center of excellence and innovation in Paris to support the implementation of new solutions in the field of social housing worldwide. “This new international entity will strengthen Paris’s position as a capital of global issues in support of affordable, sustainable, and inclusive housing for all,” stated the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in a press release in May 2025.
Jobs around the world
In 2024, the UN system — Secretariat and agencies combined — employed 4,362 French nationals worldwide, a relatively high employment rate.
By comparison, the UN employs 2,435 British nationals (for a nearly similar population size) and 5,528 Americans (for a population five times larger).
France is one of the few countries to have, within its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a department dedicated to nationals wishing to work in international organizations: the Directorate for International Civil Servants.
In addition, contributing to its tourist appeal, France is home to 52 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It ranks fourth among countries with the highest number of World Heritage sites, behind Italy, China, and Spain.
Development aid: a global decline
Several countries have reduced the share of their budgets allocated to official development assistance (ODA), a key instrument of international cooperation. In addition to the United States, which abruptly suspended most funding through United States Agency for International Development (USAID), most European countries have scaled back their contributions.
France, which increased its official development assistance by 40% between 2017 and 2023, began reducing this aid in 2024. In 2025, France reduced its contribution to ODA by one third.
However, according to a poll conducted by Focus 2030, 59% of French citizens favour at least maintaining — if not increasing — development aid for the poorest countries.
Fewer and fewer French citizens support reducing ODA, with 43% in late 2013 compared to 27% in January 2025.
Behind these figures are human beings — men, women, and children — who, lacking healthcare, food, access to water, and protection, are at risk.
Whether pandemics, the effects of climate change, or population displacement, crises know no borders.