France is opposed to IOC’s gender policies

BY Editor

French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari says the International Olympic Committee’s decision to reintroduce sex testing, “raises major concerns, as it specifically targets women by introducing a distinction that undermines the principle of equality.”

The International Olympic Committee announced a new Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport on Thursday, effectively barring transgender athletes from competing in the Games from Los Angeles 2028 and beyond. To ensure that only competitors are compliant, the governing body is introducing a mandatory, one-off Sex Determining Region Y gene test for women.

“We oppose a generalisation of genetic testing, which raises numerous ethical, legal and medical questions, particularly in light of French legislation,” Ferrari said in a statement Friday. “These tests, introduced in 1967, were discontinued in 1999 due to strong reservations within the scientific community regarding their relevance. France regrets this step backwards.”

The procedure is banned in France; however, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said that athletes from countries where the gender test was banned would have to be tested in other countries. “If it is illegal in a country, athletes will have the possibility when they travel to other competitions to be tested there,” Coventry said. “This is also why we’re saying the policy comes into effect now, but will be implemented in LA 28. So, we have time to walk through this process with everyone.”

The IOC’s latest mandate is the result of the Protection of the Female Category Working Group, established in September 2025 to address the growing concerns over transgender participation in sports. The panel, one of the first major initiatives put in place by IOC President Coventry in her first year in the role, aimed to reach consensus among affected parties.

The Sports Minister added that the new policy “defines the female sex without taking into consideration the biological specificities of intersex people whose sexual characteristics present natural variations, which leads to a reductive and potentially stigmatising approach.” The IOC ventured that there may be ‘rare exceptions’ for Differences in Sex Development athletes who do not benefit from the performance-enhancing effects of testosterone.

Neighbouring Spain has also commented on the IOC decision, advocating for the rights of transgender athletes to play sports. The country’s Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Milagros Tolón, said the latest policy addresses the principle of equality but not that of equity. “As Minister of Sport, for me the most important thing is equality, not only from the point of view of inclusion, but also, of course, between men and women, and also in this case of trans people who practice sport,” she told the press during a para badminton championship.

Human rights groups have also voiced their concern, calling the new gender eligibility guidelines “a blunt and discriminatory response that is not supported by science and violates international human rights law”.

“Mandatory genetic sex testing and rigid biological criteria as a condition for participation in the women’s category violates fundamental and universal human rights … including the right to equality, non-discrimination, dignity, privacy, and bodily autonomy,” said Professor Paula Gerber, an international human rights lawyer at Monash University. “As several UN independent experts have noted, binary definitions of sex reinforce harmful stereotypes and erode progress toward substantive gender equality. Any testing of athletes needs to be individualised and evidence-based, not arbitrary or degrading.”

While the IOC policy targets only Olympians, some worry it may affect grassroots sports. “This isn’t just about transgender or intersex athletes; this impacts every girl playing Australian sport today,” said Nikki Dryden, a human rights lawyer and former Olympic swimmer. “If these rules are adopted, it could mean that when you sign your daughter up to play sports, she may be subjected to sex testing just to participate. “Worse, it creates a culture where someone like a coach, an official, or even another parent, feels entitled to question whether your daughter ‘looks female enough’ to belong. That is not protecting women’s sport. That is policing girls’ bodies. And once sport starts deciding which women are ‘acceptable’, no woman or girl is truly safe.”

Dryden furthered that the IOC policies are ‘unlawful in Australia’. “Mandatory sex testing and blanket bans directly conflict with the Sex Discrimination Act, our sporting National Integrity Framework, and our safeguarding obligations to children. Moving towards exclusionary, invasive rules is not only unnecessary, but it is also a step back over 25 years that exposes athletes and organisations to serious legal and integrity risks.”

Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman, however, confirmed that he supported the new guidelines and offered affected athletes counselling and support. “Without doubt, this is a challenging and complex subject, and at the AOC, we approach it with empathy and understanding,” Chesterman said. “This decision provides clarity for elite female athletes who compete at the highest level and demonstrates a commitment to fairness, safety and integrity in Olympic competition, all of which are fundamental principles of the Olympic movement.”

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