Free civic space in France, Italy and Germany under threat, study says

France, Germany and Italy are the three European Union countries experiencing a worsening environment for civil society, according to a report by CIVICUS, the global alliance of civil society organisations and activists.

All three member states were downgraded from “narrowed” to “obstructed” — the third-lowest of five possible categories.

The annual report tracks the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression in 198 countries and territories, rating them as open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed or closed.

Across Europe, the most frequently reported violations include the detention of protesters, disruption of demonstrations, attacks on journalists, use of excessive force and public vilification.

“Far fewer people in Europe can exercise fundamental freedoms without significant barriers, largely due to intensifying crackdowns on protests and human rights defenders in some of Europe’s largest democracies,” Tara Petrović, Europe and Central Asia researcher for the CIVICUS Monitor, said.

“European leaders, particularly within the EU, must push back on these trends so that the continent remains at the forefront of protecting rights and civic space.”

France’s downgrade reflects an accumulation of growing restrictions on peaceful protests and freedom of expression, alongside the misuse of laws to dissolve NGOs and intimidate activists in recent years.

Meanwhile, Germany’s civic space deterioration has occurred “at an alarming rate”, according to the report.

The drop is due to repression of those demonstrating for climate justice, migrant rights and against austerity measures.

“German authorities have paired political pressure with heavy-handed policing to suppress free expression, from storming a relocated event with UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese to monitoring students who livestreamed it,” the report noted.

The situation for civil society in Italy has worsened following new laws passed in 2025 that introduced dozens of new criminal offences, including harsher penalties for peaceful protests.

In Europe, Georgia and Serbia moved to the “repressed” category, the second-worst civic space rating, while Switzerland changed to “narrowed”.

This shift is largely due to intensifying crackdowns on human rights defenders and protests in some of Europe’s largest democracies.