France

UNAPEI has recently spoken out against a new amendment to the French health bill that could have threatened the rights of people with disabilities. The draft article aimed at establishing a system of permanent referral of people with disabilities that would not have respected their rights.

After a dramatic incident in early February involving a mother killing her son who had intellectual disabilities in the city of Rouen, France, the French National Union of Parents of People with Intellectual Disabilities (Unapei) responded fiercely in an opinion piece blaming the lack of inclusion within French society.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the 2005 Act on Equal Rights and Opportunities for people with disabilities, the French Institute for Public Opinion, together with a group of organisations working for disabled persons, among which Inclusion Europe member Unapei, has released a report on the "limited progress" that the Act has brought about, and the problems people with disabilities still face in France.

Unapei is organising a day event which will analyse the current French social support system and its failure in helping people with disabilities live independently and become financially secure.

For the first time in history, a man who has an intellectual disability has been awarded the Légion d'honneur order in France.

On 14 March 2014, Inclusion Europe’s member organisations Unapei, the National federation of associations of parents, of persons with intellectual disabilities, and their friends and Nous Aussi, French association of persons with intellectual disabilities, are organising a Self- advocacy day.

Unapei has criticised government inaction when responding to the challenges faced by more than 30,000 families in France who have ageing adult children with intellectual disabilities.