M
ore than one in three LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) employees said they had experienced at least one assault at work in France. "Thirty-six percent of them have already been subjected to mockery or derogatory remarks, 32% to insults, 28% to social exclusion, and even, for 19%, to physical violence," said Guillaume Savoie, vice president of the non-profit organization L'Autre Cercle, which works for the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the workplace and higher education.
Discrimination experienced by LGBTQIA+ employees, or witnessed by their colleagues, rose sharply between 2024 and 2026, according to the fifth edition of a survey conducted by IFOP for L'Autre Cercle. The survey was carried out in January and February among a representative sample of 10,185 employees, including 942 LGBTQIA+ people. It found that 37% of LGBTQIA+ employees had been victims of discrimination by their management, an increase of 12 percentage points since 2024.
These worrying figures come in the context of setbacks on diversity issues, as illustrated by a 2025 letter from the United States embassy in France, which threatened French companies that implemented diversity and inclusion programs.
