During the seventh working session of the citizens' convention on children's time, at France's Economic, Social and Environmental Council, in Paris, on November 21, 2025. AGNES DHERBEYS/MYOP FOR LE MONDE
The text is meant to be both a wake-up call and a call for action. The 133 members of the citizens' convention on children's time, who voted on their final report on Sunday, November 23, took inspiration from a previous convention on the end of life to draft a "manifesto" to accompany their work. Le Monde is publishing that document here.
Beyond the content of their report and the proposals it contains, they seek to address political leaders and the French public regarding what they describe as the "unacceptable" reality of a society lacking "collective consideration for children."
They also issue three warnings. First, they insist that their work should be read as a whole: "We do not want it to be reduced to a single topic or for only one proposal to be taken from it." Second, due to time constraints, not all subjects relating to childhood could be included in the report, but these should nevertheless "lead to concrete action," they say. Finally, while the French political landscape is more fragmented than ever, the citizens call on all sides to "move beyond all political divisions and changes in majority" for the benefit of children. "We now expect our political leaders to take responsibility and prove that politics can still serve the common good," they write.
