A/HRC/38/4 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its twenty-ninth session from 15 to 26 January 2018. The review of France was held at the 1st meeting, on 15 January 2018. The delegation of France was headed by François Croquette, the Ambassador for Human Rights, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. At its 10th meeting, held on 19 January 2018, the Working Group adopted the report on France. 2. On 10 January 2018, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of France: Brazil, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of France: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/29/FRA/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/29/FRA/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/29/FRA/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Rwanda, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to France through the troika. These questions are available on the website of the universal periodic review. I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. The delegation of France recalled that respect for human rights was a core value of the French Republic. France had continually advocated for the creation of the universal periodic review mechanism. Since the previous review of France in 2013, great efforts had been made to enhance the protection of fundamental rights. 6. France had endeavoured to foster greater respect for the rights of women, particularly in the area of violence against women, [through such initiatives as the development of the Plan to Combat Violence 2017–2019 and the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)]. It had also made efforts to promote gender equality in the workplace through such initiatives as the creation of the High Council for Gender Equality and the adoption of the law of 4 August 2014 on genuine equality between men and women. 7. Combating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity was also a priority, as evidenced by the legalization of same-sex marriage and the development of the 2017–2020 plan for putting an end to hatred and discrimination directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. 8. France had given new impetus to its efforts to combat racism, xenophobia and antiSemitism, which had been declared the national priority issue for 2015. In all, 40 concrete measures had been taken within the framework of the second National Action Plan to Combat Racism and Anti-Semitism, which covered the period from 2015 to 2017. France had pursued a proactive policy on fighting crime and had adopted specific pieces of legislation to combat online hate speech. Police officers, gendarmes, judges and senior registrars were provided with regular training on the subject. 2 GE.18-05727