France will use its upcoming presidency of the G7 to push for reforms of international development aid, its minister for global partnerships Eleonore Caroit said.
France assumes the presidency of the G7 group of advanced economies in 2026 at a time when major aid donors, particularly the U.S., are cutting their contributions.
Speaking on the sidelines of a UN development forum in Doha, Caroit said on Monday that France would use its presidency for reform of the “global architecture of financing development” to involve the private sector and NGOs as well as governments.
Caroit said it was crucial that “development is perceived as an investment — an investment that is necessary.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has slashed USAID, which spent billions funding development programs worldwide.
“When we discuss with different agencies, in particular UN agencies, that we see the difficulties that political decisions from member states such as the U.S. can pose for them,” Caroit said.
“Because of the current crisis that we’re experiencing in the global field of public development aid … you see that the funds that are available are scarce everywhere,” she said.
“This means, of course, reforms of organization, and this is a process that has been already undertaken, but that needs to move faster,” the minister added.
According to the Congressional Research Service, a branch of the U.S. Congress, USAID had over $35 billion in funding in 2024. Since then, the majority of its projects have been cancelled by the White House.
Caroit said “scarcity is everywhere, and including in France, because of budgetary constraints.”
The French Development Agency, a major player, lost half its budget in 2025 following government spending cuts, its director general, Remy Rioux, said in June.
