France - June 2024

On 5 June, Parliament approved legislation requiring individuals, entities or political parties working to promote the interests of a foreign state outside of the EU to report their activities to the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP), with some exceptions for diplomatic and consular staff stationed in France. The measures are based on recommendations from an April OECD report suggesting that France implement a scheme to regulate lobbying activities for foreign interests. The HATVP’s register of activities is planned to be established on 1 July 2025. In addition to these efforts to boost transparency, the law also expands intelligence tools to identify potential perpetrators of foreign interference. Another key feature of the law allows intelligence services to use “algorithmic surveillance” (a practice currently only permitted to combat terrorism) to detect cyberattacks or other interference operations on an experimental basis until June 2028. Some left-wing parties have objected, fearing repercussions for individual freedoms, and impacts on certain journalists, foreign NGOs and opposition parties.

Source: Vie Publique (1), Vie Publique (2), Euractiv, Public Senat, OECD, RFERL, Le Monde