[ID:5960]EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is written as a general introduction to NGOs in France and it is also a companion article for the selection of French NGOs found in the All NGOs resource list. The article is also available in French, since volunteers, interns and job applicants must, in general, be proficient in the French language in order to work/volunteer/intern with a French NGO.

In France, the term “NGO” is defined rather broadly. As a result, any organization that is not managed by the government – notably, unions and certain companies – can be considered an NGO. The NGOs that we will be focusing on are the “Associations de solidarité internationale” (ASI), or International Solidarity Associations, and the “Organisations de solidarité internationale” (OSI), all of which are registered under “loi 1901” (law 1901). Most of these NGOs are defined as non-political and non-religious, meaning that their activities are carried regardless of the religious, political or cultural...