Publication

“Our children first: time for collective action to protect their future” – by French President Emmanuel Macron

25 September 2026

Publication

The brutality of dominant powers, the allure of authoritarianism, transactional nationalism: such is the ethos that cynics and opportunists want to impose on our times. They seek to convince us that the future will be decided first and foremost through power and force.

It would be naive to believe that power does not matter. France has chosen to invest in technological sovereignty, military and industrial rearmament, the protection of our borders, the attractiveness of our country, and the defense of our democracies. This power is only meaningful, however, if it serves to build a better world for our children.

This focus is at the root of every political promise. Childhood is at the crux of a society’s cohesion, its capacity for transmission, learning and innovation, its ability to form a nation. It is also where the most profound fractures emerge: inequalities in terms of healthcare, language, learning, confidence, safety, and opportunities.

In the most vulnerable countries, this reality costs lives. Nearly five million children continue to die each year from preventable illnesses. It also appears in other forms, across all societies: it can be seen in relation to difficulties at school, mental health, violence that takes hold far too early, screens that capture attention before minds are formed, artificial intelligence that is opening the door to immense possibilities and new risks, and the isolation of certain families.

On 10 and 11 November 2026, the Paris Peace Forum will host a Child Summit at the Palais de Chaillot. This event will bring together public authorities, philanthropic organizations, the private sector, and civil society around five key priorities, with a long-term perspective: maternal and child health, nutrition, education, protection, and psychosocial and mental wellbeing, particularly in the face of digital challenges.

This Summit is in line with the work France has been pursuing for several years focusing on primary education, basic skills, schooling from the age of three, and supporting young people’s access to training, culture and employment.

It also aligns with the framework of France’s G7 Presidency, which has also upheld this priority – by defending the protection of minors in the digital space, calling for an overhaul of our international solidarity approach, at a time when budgets are stretched and needs are increasing, and building concrete coalitions between States, international organizations, philanthropic organizations, companies, researchers and actors in the field.

These fights cannot be separated. They respond to the same imperative: placing children back at the heart of our choices.

I hope that this Summit allows us to make progress through three pillars: first, a declaration affirming that children must once again become an explicit priority of international cooperation; second, a common measurement framework to enable us to monitor progress achieved and ensure the transparency and rigor that this action merits; and lastly, a platform for action able to bring together the necessary commitments, financing, innovations, and partnerships to transform intentions into results.

Fundamentally, to choose children is to reject a form of fatalism that is pervading our time. It is a reminder that progress stems from hope as much as from power, and is only worthwhile if it benefits future generations.

Emmanuel Macron
President of the Republic of France