RGAA 4.1: France's Web Accessibility Standard Explained for Non-French Teams

Meta: RGAA is France's legally mandated accessibility framework (106 criteria). If your team manages French websites or serves French users, you must understand it. Here's what RGAA is, how it differs from WCAG, who's affected post-June 2025, and the 5 most commonly failed criteria with fixes.
Keyword: RGAA 4.1 France web accessibility standard explained

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Your team manages websites in France. Or you have French users. Or you're an international agency with a French client.

Someone on Slack asks: « What's the RGAA? Is that just WCAG with a French name? »

Not quite.

The RGAA (Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité) is France's legally binding accessibility standard. It's based on WCAG 2.1, but it's stricter, more prescriptive, and legally enforceable in France via the Défenseur des droits (Ombudsman) and, since June 2025, on private sector websites too.

If your French website isn't RGAA-compliant, you're exposed to legal complaints, public pressure, and—if you're large enough—pressure from the French government.

I've been working on accessibility for ten years. I've tested hundreds of websites across Europe. French websites in particular often miss these standards. Not malice. Just lack of clear resources in English.

This article is for teams who don't speak French, manage French users, and need to understand what's actually required.

What is RGAA, and How Does It Differ from WCAG?

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard from the W3C. It has three levels: A, AA, AAA. It covers contrast, keyboard navigation, alternative text for images, captions for video, semantic HTML—all the things that make a website usable for people with disabilities.

RGAA is a French translation and adaptation of WCAG 2.1, but with one key difference: it's prescriptive, not descriptive.

WCAG says: « Check the contrast ratio of your text. »

RGAA says: « Use axe DevTools or WAVE to measure contrast. The minimum is 4.5:1 for normal text. Here's exactly how to verify it. »

WCAG leaves room for interpretation. RGAA closes that gap. It names specific tools, specific thresholds, specific actions.

In terms of legal weight:

• WCAG = Best practice. Recommended by W3C. Used internationally. Legally binding in some countries (UK, Germany, US).
• RGAA = French law. Not a suggestion. Failure to comply can result in legal complaints, fines, and public shaming.

RGAA has 106 criteria organized into 13 thematic areas:

1. Images and media
2. Frames and multimedia
3. Colors and contrast
4. Information structure
5. Tables
6. Links
7. Scripts and interactions
8. Required elements
9. Structure of information
10. Presentation of information
11. Forms
12. Navigation and orientation
13. Consultation

That's more granular than WCAG. And each criterion has a test procedure. You're not left guessing how to verify compliance.

Who Has to Comply (And Why June 2025 Matters)

Until June 2025, only public sector websites in France had a formal legal obligation to be RGAA-compliant.

Private companies were not legally required. So most of them... weren't.

Then the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force. It expanded the obligation to the private sector.

As of June 2025, who must comply?

• Private sector service providers (agencies, web hosting companies, software developers)
• E-commerce sites and online retailers
• Companies providing digital services
• Web applications (mobile apps are coming, but websites are now)

Exceptions exist for small companies (fewer than 10 employees, under €2M annual turnover), but the exception isn't automatic—you have to justify it.

Practically? Complaints about inaccessible private websites now go to the Défenseur des droits. They're investigating. Some companies are already being approached.

And here's the business angle: partners, insurers, and customers are starting to ask if your website is accessible as a requirement for doing business.

It used to be optional. It's no longer optional.

The 5 Most Commonly Failed Criteria (And How to Fix Them)

I've tested 100+ French and French-facing websites. These five failures appear in 90% of audits:

Failure 1: Images Without Proper Alternative Text

A product page. Six beautiful images. Not a single alt attribute. Or an alt="image1.jpg".

For a blind user with a screen reader, those images don't exist. No description. No information.

How to fix it:

<!-- Bad -->
<img src="product.jpg" />

<!-- Also bad -->
<img src="product.jpg" alt="photo" />

<!-- Good -->
<img src="product.jpg" alt="Nomad backpack, 45L, black, model 2025" />

The alt text should describe what's in the image and why it matters to the user. Not the filename. Not vague. Specific.

Testing: Use axe DevTools (free browser extension) or WAVE. Both will flag missing alt attributes.

Failure 2: Insufficient Color Contrast

A startup's modern, minimal website. Light gray text on a white background. Elegant on screen. Illegible for someone with low vision or astigmatism.

RGAA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. (Higher for small text or very important content.)

How to test:

• Install axe DevTools or WAVE
• Click the contrast checker
• Any text below 4.5:1 = non-compliant

How to fix it:

• Darker text or lighter background
• Or use a color with more contrast (e.g., dark blue instead of light gray)

Tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker or Contrast Ratio let you play with colors before implementing.

Failure 3: Forms Without Associated Labels

A contact form. Three input fields. No visible labels. Just placeholder text that disappears on focus.

A screen reader user doesn't know what field to fill. A keyboard-only user can't see which field is which.

How to fix it:

<!-- Bad -->
<input type="email" placeholder="Enter your email" />

<!-- Good -->
<label for="email">Email address</label>
<input id="email" type="email" />

The <label> is associated to the input via the for attribute. It's now linked in the HTML tree. Screen readers announce it. Keyboard navigation works.

Failure 4: Keyboard Navigation Disabled

You test a website with only a keyboard. Press Tab to navigate. Nothing happens. You must use the mouse.

For someone with paralysis, tremors, or motor control issues, the site is locked.

RGAA requires that everything—menus, buttons, forms, dropdowns—be navigable via keyboard.

How to test:

• Open the site
• Don't touch your mouse
• Press Tab repeatedly
• Can you reach every interactive element? Can you activate it?

How to fix it:

• Ensure all interactive elements are in the tab order
• Use semantic HTML (<button>, <a>, <input>) which are keyboard-accessible by default
• If you use custom elements (like a styled <div> as a button), add tabindex="0" and JavaScript keyboard handlers

Failure 5: Videos Without Captions or Transcripts

A tutorial video, a customer testimonial, a product demo. Zero captions. For a deaf user, the information is lost.

(And as a bonus, captions are good for SEO and for users in noisy environments.)

RGAA requires captions for all multimedia content. Transcripts are also helpful.

How to fix it:

• Use YouTube, Vimeo, or another platform with built-in captioning
• Upload a caption file (VTT format) with timestamps
• Or use a service like Rev or otter.ai to auto-generate captions, then review them

For a simple video, captions take 30 minutes to an hour.

The Accessibility Statement Requirement

Once you're RGAA-compliant (or mostly compliant), you must publish an accessibility statement on your website. This is a legal requirement, not a suggestion.

What goes in it?

• Your current RGAA conformity level (A, AA, or AAA)
• Any known non-compliances
• Corrections in progress
• A contact mechanism for users to report accessibility issues
• Link to France's Défenseur des droits

Where does it go?

Usually a footer link called « Accessibilité » or « Accessibility ». It must itself be accessible (follow RGAA standards for the statement page).

France maintains a public list of accessibility statements via the DINUM (Interministerial Digital Directorate). Your statement should be listed there.

If you don't have one, that's a non-compliance on its own.

Real-World Risks and Complaints

What happens if you ignore RGAA?

Complaints to the Défenseur des droits

A blind user can't access your French website. They file a complaint with the Ombudsman. They investigate. If non-compliance is found, you're asked to correct it.

You refuse? It goes public. Your company appears in official reports. Reputational damage.

Government Pressure

France's government is taking accessibility seriously. New funding, new oversight, new public statements. Large companies are already being approached.

Partner and Customer Pressure

B2B clients now ask: « Is your website RGAA-compliant? » It's becoming a requirement for contracts.

Practical Steps for Non-French Teams

You manage a French website but you're not based in France. Here's what you do:

Week 1: Audit

• Install axe DevTools (free, Chrome/Firefox)
• Scan your site
• Export the results (axe reports to CSV)
• Note the most severe issues (images without alt, color contrast, keyboard navigation)

Week 2: Plan

Categorize:

• Critical : Makes the site unusable (no keyboard nav, images with no alt, forms with no labels)
• Important : Affects usability (weak contrast, no video captions)
• To Improve : Refinements (focus indicators, heading hierarchy)

Start with critical.

Week 3-4: Corrections

• Add alt text to images
• Fix form labels
• Test keyboard navigation
• Adjust color contrast

This usually takes 3-5 days of development work for a medium site.

Week 5: Testing

Test with real tools:

• Keyboard-only navigation (actually use only your keyboard)
• Screen reader (NVDA is free on Windows; voiceOver on Mac)
• A colleague reads your text from a distance without zooming

Week 6: Documentation

Write your accessibility statement. Use the official template from DINUM.

Publish it on your site.

Cost and Timeline

For a small to medium website:

• DIY audit and fixes: 2-3 weeks, cost of internal dev time
• With an external consultant: 1-2 weeks, consultant cost €2,000-€5,000
• Full formal audit: 1-2 months, cost €5,000-€15,000

Choose based on complexity and your risk tolerance.

Why This Matters Beyond Legal Compliance

I said it before, and I'll say it again: 15% of the world's population has a disability. 15%.

That's not a niche. That's a market.

An accessible website:

• Reaches more users
• Ranks better on search engines (accessibility practices overlap with SEO)
• Reduces support costs (users can navigate independently)
• Builds brand loyalty (customers appreciate inclusion)
• Reduces legal risk

It's not just the right thing to do. It's the smart business thing to do.

Key Takeaway

RGAA is France's accessibility law. It's now law for private sector websites too (as of June 2025). It's stricter and more specific than plain WCAG.

If your team manages French websites or has French users, you need to understand it. Not as a suggestion. As a requirement.

Start with an audit. Plan your fixes. Allocate 2-3 weeks. You're done.

And if you're already compliant? Great. But make sure your accessibility statement is published and updated.

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Sophie Blanc is a digital accessibility and GDPR compliance consultant based in Paris. She works with SMEs and digital agencies across Europe to ensure compliance with legal standards. Her approach: translate legal requirements into concrete, actionable steps—no jargon.