# Test for RGAA and WCAG Compliance with Rocket Validator and Axe 4.11

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Rocket Validator now supports the French RGAA accessibility framework with the latest Axe 4.11 update, making it easy to test your sites for both RGAA and WCAG compliance.

If you’re building or maintaining websites in France, you’ve probably heard about **RGAA** — the accessibility framework used across the French public sector. With our latest update, Rocket Validator now includes RGAA tagging automatically, thanks to the new **Axe 4.11** engine upgrade.

<img src="https://rocketvalidator.com/images/blog/2025-10/rgaa.png" class="screenshot !border-2" alt="Screenshot of the RGAA reference site">

## What’s the RGAA?

**RGAA** stands for *Référentiel Général d’Amélioration de l’Accessibilité* — the General Accessibility Improvement Framework.

It’s a set of guidelines created to help ensure that digital services in France are accessible to everyone.

The RGAA builds on the **W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)** and adapts them to the French context, providing more detailed tests and examples. It’s widely used by public organizations and by private companies that want to make sure their websites meet accessibility expectations in France.

You can learn more about the RGAA framework on the official site:

🇫🇷 [accessibilite.numerique.gouv.fr](https://accessibilite.numerique.gouv.fr)

## RGAA and WCAG: Working Together

Both **WCAG** and **RGAA** share the same foundation — accessibility principles that make content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.  

While WCAG provides the international standard, RGAA adds practical testing methods and interpretations designed for the French web ecosystem. So if your team already checks for WCAG compliance, adding RGAA support helps ensure that your site meets the expectations of accessibility reviewers and auditors in France.

| | WCAG | RGAA |
|--|--|--|
| Origin | International (W3C) | French government initiative |
| Current version | WCAG 2.2 | RGAA 4.x (based on WCAG 2.1) |
| Focus | Global guidance | Practical rules for French digital services |
| Structure | 4 principles, 13 guidelines | 13 themes, 100+ test criteria |

Whether you work with public institutions, agencies, or private clients that value inclusive design, supporting both WCAG and RGAA helps demonstrate a strong accessibility commitment.

## What’s New in Axe 4.11

The latest **Axe 4.11** update adds RGAA tagging to many accessibility rules. This means Rocket Validator can now flag issues that apply specifically to RGAA alongside WCAG results — automatically.

Some rules that were previously marked as “best practices” under WCAG are now also tagged as **required under RGAA**.

As the Axe team explains:

> This release adds the new RGAA standard to many rules. Of particular note is that some best practice rules under WCAG are required under the RGAA standard: focus-order-semantics (experimental), region, skip-link, table-duplicate-name. This means that these rules are tagged as both best-practice and RGAAv4.

If you filter or process results by tags, make sure to update your logic — these rules now carry both `best-practice` and `RGAAv4` labels.

## Why This Matters for French Developers

Accessibility testing can get complex fast — especially when you’re dealing with multiple standards, large sites, and evolving frameworks like RGAA.  

Rocket Validator helps simplify that process:  
- Automatically check your pages against **WCAG and RGAA** in a single audit.  
- Get **clear, aggregated results** for hundreds or thousands of pages.  
- Keep your tests up to date with the latest Axe engine improvements.

No extra setup required — just run your audit and see which rules apply to both WCAG and RGAA.

## Get Started

Whether you’re developing for public institutions, working on accessibility certification, or just want to make sure your site meets both **international and French** accessibility standards, Rocket Validator makes large-scale testing effortless.

Run your next audit today and see RGAA support in action:

🚀 [Start a new site validation report](https://rocketvalidator.com/s/new)

## Special Offer: 20% Off for RGAA Users

To celebrate this update, we’re offering a **20% discount** on any Rocket Validator subscription with the coupon code **RGAA20**, valid until **October 31st, 2025**.  

🇫🇷 [Subscribe to Rocket Validator Pro with a 20% discount](https://rocketvalidator.com/pricing?coupon=RGAA20)