In private law, the legal regime relating to discrimination is to be found in statutes and codified law i.e. the Labour Code (LC), the Penal Code (PC) and the Civil Code (CC). Administrative law, on the other hand, is mostly jurisprudential and based on the implementation of a formal theory of equality.

The law covers all grounds prohibited by Article 19 par.1 TFEU and a number of other grounds: origin, national origin- in some legislation- appearance of origin, race, sex, pregnancy, family situation, physical appearance, last name, health, disability, genetic characteristics, mores, sexual orientation, age, union activities, and religion, political and religious convictions (which are interpreted broadly to encompass all philosophical or mystical endeavours).

On July 21^st, 2008, Government has passed a Constitutional Law modernising the institutions that creates, at Article 41, a Defender of the Rights with extended powers. Its powers and jurisdiction have been precisely defined by the Organic Law no. 2011-333 of 29 March 2011 that came into force on 1^st may 2011. It integrates the Médiateur de la République (French Ombudsman), the Defender of the rights of the Child, the Commission for the Deontology of Security, and finally the HALDE. It absorbs the jurisdiction over claims in all these areas as well as competence to propose legislative reform, to pursue actions for the promotion of rights and carry out research in all its spheres of competence. Its competence covers all grounds of discrimination, direct and indirect, prohibited by national laws and International Conventions duly ratified by France.