THE 2005 DISABILITIES POLICY IN FRANCE. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISABILITIES STUDIES

Paper presented at the 3rd European meeting of EHESP School of Public Health “Limitations , disability and dependency : how to measure , how to train? European developments in public health. Disabilities , health, society” Round table 2 : “Research and training : the future of research in disability.”Following the European charter of fundamental rights (Treaty of Nice, December 7, 2000), the French law 2005-102 renews the institutional frame in which questions relating to disability can be tackled in France. The emphasis on citizenship and on individuals' rights put on the agenda the issue of discriminations regarding people with disabilities. The legal definition of disability as limitation of activity or restriction in participation in social life leads to direct research to the different institutional, social and cultural barriers which oppose citizenship. This institutional frame offers opportunities to develop researches referring to the social model of disability and to participate in the international debates in the field of disabilities studies by bringing into it the French social policies. It also opens new directions for tertiary education on disabilities. As disabilities issues cross the economic and social sectors, the major tertiary curricula need to develop professional competencies to tackle discriminations and issues of social participation. As disabilities issues are a specific field of public intervention, the development of specialized competences is needed to implement institutional and structural conditions for the development of the citizenship and for the empowerment of disabled persons. Following disability studies, this institutional frame also put on the agenda the question of the voice of disabled people in research and education. The contribution will discuss these different stakes relating to disabilities issues in the new institutional frame on disabilities in France