Paris, 10 July 2025 – Key pillar of the national industrial fabric, home to world-renowned luxury goods and innovative high-value textiles for sectors such as aerospace, automotive, and healthcare, the French textile industry is facing a turning point.
Already managing rising production costs, unfair global competition, and mounting pressure on energy prices, French social partners – employers’ and trade unions representatives – met in Paris for the EU-funded StitchTogether project national seminar.
The two days of discussions and shared EU know-how on advancing social dialogue towards a more resilient industry culminated with consensus on the Paris Declaration, a common vision for the future of the French textile and clothing sector.
The Declaration consolidates and reaffirms the social partners’ commitment to cooperation and social dialogue as vital instruments to address the sector’s transformation, while passing forward experience and securing quality employment across the country.
Common commitments to secure the industry’s future
Six key areas of engagement were laid out to reinforce the sector’s attractiveness and sustainability:
• Strengthening social dialogue;
• Supporting sector competitiveness;
• Driving a green and circular transition;
• Investing in skills, innovation, and training;
• Improving attractiveness and inclusion;
• Ensuring decent work and protecting purchasing power.
A National Pact for a just transition
The Paris Declaration presents a powerful and unified message: the future of France’s textile industry lies in joint action between employers and workers, rooted in innovation, inclusion, and social justice.
Dirk Vantyghem, Director General EURATEX: “The Paris Declaration sends a strong message that the transitions which the textile industry navigates through must go hand-in-hand with social dialogue. France’s textile sector combines tradition with innovation, and this joint commitment by social partners shows how cooperation can protect jobs, strengthen skills, and drive competitiveness. It’s a model of how national action can reinforce Europe’s ambition for a resilient and fair textile industry.”
Judith Kirton-Darling, IndustriAll Europe’s General Secretary stated: “The textile industry in France can count on highly committed social partners, with well-established and respectful social dialogue. This is an asset for this highly innovative and resilient sector, which relies on workers with real expertise and savoir-faire. It is a strong commitment to work together to anticipate upcoming transformations, particularly in terms of green and digital transition”