Higher pedagogical education in Russia and France is currently undergoing modernization. In connection with the new challenges of time, global changes in the world community there is a growing public interest in the problems of sustainable development as the only possible way of civilization movement. Under these conditions, there is a need to improve teacher training, the inclusion of new training modules in the educational process, and the creation of new master’s degree programs. This study aims to analyze the situation by introducing the idea of “education for sustainable development (ESD)” into the organization of higher teacher education, which is constantly reforming in the context of the Bologna process, on the example of two countries - Russia and France. The study identifies the main tendencies of pedagogical education modernization, examines the teacher training system in terms of ESD ideas, considers Master’s programs in universities of Russia and France.