France launches three-month ad campaign to fight female genital mutilation in Muslim communities

France launched a three-month public-information campaign to curb female genital mutilation (FGM) in areas with large Muslim populations, concluding on Sept 2. Posters on bus shelters display a young girl whose genitals have been cut and carry the message that FGM must not be part of any journey, targeting parents who might travel abroad with their daughters during the school holiday period. The initiative is a partnership between the charity Excision, parlons-en! and the French government, which cites that one in ten girls in Seine-Saint-Denis faces the risk.

NGO data estimate 180,000 girls at risk across Europe each year, with France recording the highest national total of 60,000 victims. FGM has been illegal in France since 1983, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and the state has granted refugee status to 20,000 at-risk girls. Critics, including a 2025 British Journal of Medical Ethics article, warn that anti-FGM policies may erode trust in healthcare and stigmatise migrant families. The prefect emphasized that the campaign seeks to denounce the practice as a violation of women’s rights.