France has again made clear that it will not recognise the Taliban administration in Afghanistan. "France does not recognise the Taliban and has no intention of doing so," Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said at a gender equality event at the French Foreign Ministry. "We will never accept their policy of systematic repression and exclusion of women."
The remarks come as French officials hold technical talks with the Taliban on returning some Afghan nationals who are in France illegally and considered a threat to public order or national security. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told lawmakers on Monday: "We are trying to obtain the possibility to return a certain number of Afghans who are in an irregular situation. These are technical discussions." The Foreign Ministry has previously said asylum-seekers and women are not included in the planned returns.
Barrot said President Emmanuel Macron had made improvements for Afghan women and girls an "absolutely indispensable" condition for any possible recognition. Since August 2021, he said, women had been pushed out of schools, then universities and workplaces, including jobs with humanitarian groups, and faced curbs on movement, expression and access to justice. "Women's rights are human rights; they are not negotiable," he said.
He also pointed to International Criminal Court arrest warrants for four senior Taliban figures, including supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The warrants are allegations, not convictions. France joined other countries in referring the situation in Afghanistan to the court in 2024. It has had no diplomatic relations with the Taliban since they returned to power in August 2021, and its embassy in Kabul remains closed.