Why France doesn't (yet) have a national project management certification - and why it matters

Introduction :

When it comes to project management, French companies are faced with a singularity: there is no national benchmark certification nor specific French standard equivalent to Anglo-Saxon standards such as PMP (PMI - USA) or PRINCE2 (UK).

At Alvid Consulting, We work with business, IT and project managers who are confronted with this reality: to structure their teams or give credibility to their practices, they rely almost exclusively on international standards.

But why this discrepancy? We explain.

French expertise is highly technical but not very formalized

The French engineering culture is based on the technical rigor, and experience in the field. Our schools train excellent engineers, project managers and interim managers. But project management, as a structured discipline with methods, deliverables and certifications, did not follow the same trajectory.

Unlike the PMI (Project Management Institute, USA) or AXELOS (United Kingdom), no French public or semi-public organization has developed a national project management standard.

📚 International standardization... timidly adopted in France

The only attempt at formal convergence remains the ISO 21500 standard, developed by the International Organization for Standardization (of which France is a member via AFNOR).

➡️ ISO 21500 is a best practice guide in project management. It defines the key concepts, processes and areas of competence of a well-structured project. But this standard is neither binding nor certifying, and its adoption in France remains marginal compared to certifications such as PMP, PRINCE2 or Scrum Master.

🌍 Global alignment preferred to local standards

Against a backdrop of international projects, multicultural collaboration and digital transformation, French companies are choosing to pragmatically internationally recognized Anglo-Saxon certifications:

✔️ PMP® (Project Management Professional)- PMI standard (USA)

✔️ PRINCE2®- Method developed by the British government

✔️ Scrum / Agile - Methods derived from American IT culture

This enables common language between project players, whatever the country or sector.

🔧 What this means for French companies

The absence of national certification creates a positioning blur for project managers :

Do you have to certify your teams? If so, which standards?
How do you structure a PMO without a standardized framework?
What tools and processes should be adopted to ensure project consistency?

At Alvid Consulting, we help our customers to navigating this complexity, by adapting international standards to their organizational context, corporate culture and ambitions.

🧭 Conclusion: Do we need French certification?

The question remains open. But in the meantime, international standards are an opportunity, not a constraint. They enable French companies to aligning with global best practice, while retaining their local DNA.

At Alvid Consulting, our conviction is clear:

It's not the method that makes the project a success, but the intelligence with which it's applied.

🔗 Do you need to structure your projects or organization? Contact our team: alvid-consulting.com / contact@alvid-consulting.com