The

Scout movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpackin ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

consists of about 80 different associations and federations with about 180,000 Scouts and

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

. Next to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, France is the country with the most fragmented Scout movement.

National recognized organizations

The national recognized organizations are grouped in two federations and one independent organization.

Fédération du scoutisme Français

The Fédération du Scoutisme Français (Federation of French Scouting) is the national member of both the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

(WOSM) and the

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its ...

(WAGGGS). The federation has about 120,000 members grouped in five co-educational associations. Scoutisme Français was founded in 1940, with the help of

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

, by the ''Eclaireurs de France'', the ''Éclaireurs unionistes de France'', the ''Scouts de France'', the ''Guides de France'', the ''Éclaireurs israélites de France'' and the Fédération française des éclaireuses. The Members of the federation are: * Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs de France (founded in 1911, interreligious, 35,000 members) *

Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs unionistes de France The Éclaireuses et éclaireurs unionistes de France (EEUdF, approximate translation ''Unionist Guides and Scouts of France'') are a Protestant Scouting and Guiding organization in France. The association serves 6,023 members and is affiliated t ...

(founded in 1911,

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, 5,000 members) *

Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs israélites de France The Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs israélites de France (EEIF, ''Jewish Guides and Scouts of France'') is a Jewish Scouting and Guiding organization in France. It was founded in 1923 and serves about 4,000 members. The EEIF is a member of the F� ...

(founded in 1923,

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish) *

Scouts et Guides de France Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France (fo ...

(founded in 2004 after the merger of Scouts de France (1920) and Guides de France (1923),

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 70,000 members) * Scouts Musulmans de France (founded in 1990, Muslim) *

Éclaireurs de la Nature The ''Éclaireurs de la Nature'' (Association of Scouts of Nature, EDLN) is a Buddhist Scout movement, founded in 2007. The association has about 1 000 members divided into eight groups, as of 2018. EDLN is a member of the World Buddhist Scout Bro ...

(founded in 2007,

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

)

Conférence Française de Scoutisme

The

Conférence Française de Scoutisme The Conférence Française de Scoutisme (''French Conference of the Scout Movement'', CFS) is a French Scouting federation, founded in 2000 and serving about 35,000 members of both genders. The CFS is not a member of either the World Organization ...

(French Conference on Scouting) has about 35,000 members grouped in three co-educational associations: *

Association des Guides et Scouts d'Europe The Association des Guides et Scouts d'Europe (AGSE, ''Association of the Guides and Scouts of Europe'') is a Roman Catholic Scouting and Guiding organization in France. It was founded in 1958 and serves about 26,600 members. The organization wa ...

(founded in 1958, Catholic, 25,000 members). The association is affiliated to the

Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

Eclaireurs Neutres de France The Éclaireurs Neutres de France (''Neutral (= interreligious) Scouts of France'', ENF) is a non-aligned French Scouting association, founded in 1947 by Marcel Lepage and serving 3,000 to 4,000 members of both genders. The association has no p ...

(founded in 1947, interreligious, 3,000 to 4,000 members). Affiliated is a number of smaller associations, some of them Catholic: **''Europa Scouts'' **''Scouts et Guides Saint-Louis'' **''Scouts et Guides de Riaumont'' (

Traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council ( ...

, with connections to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter) *

Fédération des Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs The Fédération des éclaireuses et éclaireurs (FEE, ''Guides and Scouts Federation'') is an umbrella federation of about 15 regional Scouting and Guiding associations in France. It was founded in 1989 and serves about 2000 members. The FEE is ...

(founded in 1989 as split-off of the ''Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France'', interreligious, 2,000 members). This federation groups about 15 to 20 independent local associations, some of them Protestant or

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Scouts unitaires de France

The

Scouts Unitaires de France The Scouts Unitaires de France (''Unitary Scouts of France'', SUF) is a French Catholic Scouting movement created in 1971. It is the third largest Scout movement in France. From 1964 to 1970 the Scouts de France prepared and experimented with ...

(Unitary Scouts of France) were founded in 1971 in reaction to a pedagogic renewal within the ''Scouts de France'' splitting the former Scout troops (''unités'') in two new sections and implementing coeducation. The association is Catholic and counts about 23,000 members.

Regional or local recognized organizations

There are at least 50 independent Scouting associations in France outside the above-mentioned federations. Most of them are recognized by regional or local authorities, some via religious communities. They have an estimated membership of about 5,000 Scouts and Guides. Notable among them are: *''Association Française de Scouts et Guides Catholiques'' (Traditionalist Catholic) *''Scouts de Doran'' (Split-off of the former, Catholic), working towards national recognition *''Scouts et Guides Godefroy de Bouillon'' (Traditionalist Catholic, with connections to the Society of St. Pius X) *''Ecuyers Saint-Michel'' (Fencing Scouts) *''Fédération du Scoutisme Evangélique Français'' (Protestant). Affiliated are a number of smaller associations.

Old Scouts

The Fédération des Associations d'Anciens du Scoutisme (FAAS) is the national member of the

International Scout and Guide Fellowship The International Scout and Guide Fellowship (ISGF) is a worldwide organization of adults in support of Scouting and Guiding. The International Scout and Guide Fellowship is open to former members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl ...

. The Members of the federation are: *Les Amitiés de France Anciens Scouts et Guides (ADF) *Association des Anciens Éclaireurs et Éclaireuses (A.A.E.E.) *A3-Association des Anciens et Amis des Éclaireurs et Éclaireuses Israélites de France *Les Tisons, Anciens des Éclaireurs et Éclaireuses Unionistes *Réseau des Parents et Amis des Guides et Scouts de France

International Scouting units in France

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

, served by the

Transatlantic Council There have been American Scouts overseas since almost the inception of the movement, often for similar reasons as the present day. Within the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), these expatriate Scouts are now served by two overseas Councils and the Dire ...

in Paris * Girl Scouts of the USA, served by USAGSO headquarters *

The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

, served by

British Scouting Overseas The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

Girlguiding UK Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association, previously named The Girl Guides Association and is the national guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation. Girlguiding is a char ...

, served by British Guides in Foreign Countries *Armenian Scouting, served by Homenetmen * Greek Scouting in Paris *

Külföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség Külföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség (''Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris'') is a Scouts-in-Exile organization created for youth of Hungarian descent. Scouting makes it possible for young men and women to learn more about their Hungarian ...

operates one troop in Paris *Polish Scouting and Guiding, served by ZHP pgK (ZHP aboard) *Russian Scouting, served by National Organization of Russian Scouts (NORS) and Organization of Russian Young Pathfinders

History

At the end of 1937, France sent Scoutmaster

Raymond Schlemmer Raymond Schlemmer was a seminal figure in the early history of Scouting in France, from 1922 to 1952. Career In late 1937, French Scouting sent Scoutmaster Schlemmer to the Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese areas of Indochina to oversee the s ...

to the

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

n, Laotian and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese areas of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

to oversee the setting up of the Fédération Indochinoise des Associations du Scoutisme (FIAS, Indochinese Federation of Scouting Associations) in all three regions.

Notes

The French language knows two words both for Boy Scout and Girl Guide/Girl Scout. ''Boy Scout'' is translated as ''scout'' in Catholic and Muslim associations, and as ''éclaireur'' in Protestant, Jewish and interreligious associations. ''Girl Guide/Girl Scout'' is translated as ''guide'' in the Catholic associations, and as ''éclaireuse'' in Protestant, Jewish and interreligious associations.

References

External links

Overview chart of the French Scout Movement

Presentation of the ten major organizations

Fédération du scoutisme français

Conférence Française de Scoutisme

Scouts Unitaires de France

Association Française des Collectionneurs de Timbres Scouts (AFCTS)-French Scouts on Stamps Association
{{Scout continent, Europe