In its annual report on sexism, theHigh Council for Gender Equality, an advisory body attached to the office of the prime minister, on Wednesday said France was falling worryingly behind in identifying and tackling masculinism.
The council said the phenomenon should be recognised as a public security issue, warning that hatred of women can lead to violence and even terrorism. It noted that countries such asCanadaand theUnited Kingdomhave already included the issue in their strategies against violent extremism.
Masculinism emerged in the 1980s as a reaction to feminism. The ideology promotes male supremacy and blames women for what its supporters see as a decline in mens living conditions.
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From ideology to violence
This is a real threat. From the moment you develop a hatred of women, there can be violence and terrorist acts, Brangre Couillard, president of the council, told French news agency AFP.
The report cited several cases linked to misogynist violence, going back to 1989 whena self-declared anti-feminist shot dead 14 women at Montreals cole Polytechnique in Canada.
In France, an 18-year-old was arrested last summer in Saint-tienne on suspicion of planning knife attacks against women. Hewas chargedby the national anti-terrorism prosecutor, marking the first case involving someone claiming allegiance solely to themasculinist incel movement.
The council described that judicial decision as a major step forward, and said it now supports integrating what it calls misogynist terrorism into security doctrines.
This would involve training intelligence agents to recognise the language, recruitment methods and narratives used within the so-calledmanosphere.
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Online influence
If masculinist language is not understood, it gets missed, Couillard said. She cited the British seriesAdolescenceas an example of why familiarity with these terms matters.
TheNetflixseries, released in March 2025, depicts the murder of a schoolgirl by a classmate and the influence of masculinist ideas on boys. In January, French Education MinisterElisabeth Borne announced that it will be shown in French schools.
The gender equality watchdog said such masculinist ideologies were spreading more widely in France and elsewhere, especially among young people through social media.
It called for stronger regulation and more resources forPharos, the state platform for reporting illegal online content, andArcom, the media regulator.
A 2024study by Dublin City Universityfound that young men are exposed to masculinist content within 23 minutes of browsing TikTok and YouTube, on average, regardless of whether they looked for this material.
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Hostile vs. paternalistic sexism
The council's report is based on anonline surveyby polling company Toluna Harris Interactive of 3,061 people aged 15 and over, representative of the French population.
It found that 60 percent of men believe feminists are seeking to give women more power than men.
A quarter of men said it was normal for a woman to agree tosexto please a partner or out of duty. The same proportion said they had already doubted a partners consent.
From these findings, the council estimated that 17 percent of the French population adheres to hostile sexism, which devalues women and justifies discrimination and violence.
The risk is that these people join and become members of masculinist networks, said Couillard.
In addition, some 23 percent of those surveyed supported a more paternalistic form of sexism which promotes traditional gender roles, the council said. Often seen as benevolent by its proponents, it nonetheless contributes to inequality by confining women to stereotypical roles based on fragility or dependence.
Originally published on RFI
