Introduction
National strategies are vital policy instruments to enhance the effectiveness of an OSH system by defining key priorities and actions for improving workers’ health and safety.
The Commission called on the Member States to update and draw up their national OSH strategies in line with the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027 - in cooperation with social partners - to ensure that the new measures are applied on the ground.
The French Ministry of Labour designs and implements French occupational health and safety policy and manages cooperation with social partners through the Conseil d’orientation des conditions de travail (COCT). In 2004, the first Occupational Safety and Health Plan (plan Santé au travail, PST) for 2005-2009 was adopted, aimed at reforming France's occupational risk prevention system.
More information on the various OSH systems can be found in the relevant OSHwiki articles on national OSH systems.
Basic information
The current French National Occupational Safety and Health Plan covers the 2026-2030 period: plan Santé au travail 2026-2030 (PST 2026-2030, available in French[1]). This new plan incorporates the Plan for the Prevention of Serious and Fatal Work-Related Accidents (plan pour la prévention des accidents du travail graves et mortels (PATGM)), which was previously published separately from the PST 2021-2025, to strengthen the coherence of preventive measures for groups most exposed to occupational risks[2].
France’s Occupational Safety and Health Plans (PSTs) each cover a period of five years:
- Plan Santé au travail 2005-2009[3]
- Plan Santé au travail 2010-2014[4]
- Plan Santé au travail 2016-2020[5]
- Plan Santé au travail 2021-2025[6]
- Plan Santé au travail 2026-2030[7]
Background
France’s Occupational Safety and Health Plan for the 2026-2030 period sets out the roadmap for occupational health policy for the next five years. It was designed by the French Government in cooperation with social partners and national social security and prevention agencies.
France’s PST 2026-2030 was designed based on an evaluation of the PST 2021-2025 and of the Regional Occupational Safety and Health Plans 2021-2025 (PRST 2021-2025) (published in July 2025)[8].
The workplace is rapidly changing – due to extreme temperatures, digitalisation, demographic changes, or evolving aspirations among workers. However, the priority remains the same: ensuring health and safety in the workplace. France’s PST 2026-2030 aims to strengthen prevention within organisations and enable them to take more effective action to safeguard workers’ health in the face of the major changes affecting the workplace.
Main goals of France’s PST 2026-2030
France’s PST 2026-2030 sets out national guidelines for occupational risk prevention for the next five years. It aims to strengthen prevention within organisations and enable them to take more effective action to safeguard workers’ health in the face of the major changes in the workplace.
This plan sets out five priorities:
- Preventing serious and fatal work-related accidents
- Promoting women’s health at work
- Preventing climate change-related occupational risks
- Reducing absenteeism at work
- Promoting mental health at work
Certain groups are particularly exposed to occupational risks and therefore benefit from enhanced prevention measures set out by France’s PST 2026-2030: young people, newcomers and temporary workers. The plan also aims to improve women’s health at work through specific measures.
France’s PST 2026-2030 is structured around four strategic axes:
- Promoting a culture of risk prevention in the workplace
- Preventing occupational risks
- Preserving health throughout working life
- Anticipating and managing crises and emerging risks
Details of the Strategy
Overview: The strategy includes four strategic axes divided into ten goals. The ten goals are broken down into 50 actions.
Strategic axis 1: Promoting a culture of risk prevention in the workplace
Goal 1: Mobilising companies to carry out occupational risk assessment
Goal 2: Ensuring that employers, contracting authorities or clients, managers and employees work together towards a culture of risk prevention
Goal 3: Ensuring that evolutions in labour practices are supported by worker consultations and conducive to good working conditions
Goal 4: Ensuring safe and healthy workplaces and equipment
Strategic axis 2: Preventing occupational risks
Goal 5: Targeting key occupational risks, in particular in high-risk sectors
Goal 6: Providing high-risk workers with specific prevention measures
Strategic axis 3: Preserving health throughout working life
Goal 7: Improving support for workers facing health-related risks of exclusion from the labour market
Goal 8: Building an integrated occupational safety and health system, promoting greater awareness about occupational health issues and ensuring continuity in monitoring workers’ health
Strategic axis 4: Anticipating and managing crises and emerging risks
Goal 9: Building a system for monitoring early occupational safety and health warning signs and managing crises
Goal 10: Supporting occupational health and safety research and addressing emerging issues
Actors and stakeholders
France’s PST 2026-2030 was designed in cooperation with the French Government (Ministries of Labour, Health, Agriculture), social partners and national social security and prevention agencies (French National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), National Institute for Research and Safety (INRS), National Agency for Working Conditions (ANACT), National French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), National Public Health Agency (ANSP), Occupational Safety Institution for the Construction Sector (OPPBTP), Agricultural Mutual Assistance Fund (MSA))[9].
Resources and time frame
The current French PST covers the period from 2026 to 2030.
Strategic monitoring
The implementation of France’s PST 2026-2030 will be carefully monitored and evaluated by the French Ministry of Labour and social partners, with the contribution of national social security and prevention agencies.
Indicators
France’s PST 2026-2030 includes two types of indicators defined with social partners and institutional partners.
Strategic indicators are intended to monitor progress towards the strategic goals of the public policy as defined by the Strategy, particularly with regards to trends in occupational accident and disease rates and occupational risk exposure rates. Caution will be required when interpreting these indicators, as they are multifactorial. Among these indicators, accident and disease rate indicators will be given priority in monitoring, as they particularly reflect the trends the plan aims to influence :
- Number of fatal occupational accidents
- Number of occupational accidents per 1000 workers
- Number of occupational diseases
- Occupational accident severity index
- Number of fatal occupational accidents involving workers under 25 years of age
Operational indicators serve as a management tool to track the operational progress in the Strategy’s implementation.
Relationship to EU Strategic Framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027
France’s PST 2026-2030 was developed in compliance with the EU strategic framework. All key objectives of the EU strategic framework are covered by the 10 goals of the PST 2026-2030, for example:
Key objective 1 of the EU Strategic Framework (Anticipating and managing change) is covered by Goals 3 and 9.
Key objective 2 of the EU Strategic Framework (Improving prevention of work-related diseases and accidents – hazardous substances/ fight work-related cancer) is covered by Goals 4, 5 and 6.
Key objective 3 of the EU Strategic Framework (Increasing preparedness – responding rapidly to threats) is covered by Axis 4 and the related Goals.
