Political Risk:
Moderate
Score:
64/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
50/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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In France, the executive branch holds much of the power where Defence issues are concerned. The Parliament is only mentioned in art. 35 of…
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Both chambers have – among other permanent commissions – a defence legislative commission [1] (Commission de la Défense Nationale et des Forces Armées (CDNFA)…
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The latest « military programming law » (voted in June 2018) for the years 2019-2025 has for the first time given military personnel the…
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Q2
63/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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There is a parliamentary Defence committee, as well as a Senate « Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee ». The National Defence and Armed Forces Commission of…
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Some of the members have built an expertise on defence issues through having been members of the Commission for several mandates, having worked on…
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The Commission meets on average five to six times a month, [1] [2] to review defence laws and policies. It discusses the general orientation…
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The Commission reviews and discusses defence topics all year long, but it issues amendments to budgets and recommendations once a year, during the vote…
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No example were found of investigations launched by the committee on operations. The committee cannot conduct long-term investigations. Pursuant to Article 5ter of Ordinance…
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During every Finance Law (every year) and LPM (every 6 years) vote, the Defence Committees of the Assembly and Senate do make recommendations. [1]…
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Q3
38/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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The country’s defence policy is mostly debated by the Parliament on two specific occasions in the parliamentary agenda: the yearly Finance law vote (including…
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Discussion of the defence policy or security strategy focuses primarily on major threats (potential and existing), through the publication of a “White Paper” (“Livre…
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No record of public consultations was found in the last five years. Defence is not a field in which the executive is open to…
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The White Paper [1] as well as Defence laws like the LPM [2] are available for the public to read online. Questions to the…
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Q4
42/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is no formal or informal policy that requires openness towards CSOs in the defence sector, even when these CSOs have a spokesperson within…
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France’s rule of law is solid. Freedom of expression and freedom of association are guaranteed by the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights of…
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Regarding corruption issues, there is no history of collaboration between French Defence and Security Institutions and CSOs. The reason seems to be both because…
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Q5
75/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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France is a significant defence exporter and ratified the UNCAC in 2005. [1] It transposed into law the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of…
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Although France has brought the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention into force, the OECD has criticised the very small number of corruption prosecution cases since the…
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Q6
50/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Traditionally, there are few occasions for public debate on defence issues. Those that are held – conferences (open to the public), symposiums, seminars –…
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Channels of communication exist: the Ministry of Defence holds a media briefing every Thursday mornings at its headquarters in Paris. [1] The Ministry of…
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Q7
88/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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Since November 2016, there has been an anti-corruption policy through the Law “Sapin 2” on transparency, anti-corruption and the modernisation of the economy. [1]…
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The Law “Sapin 2” on transparency, anti-corruption and the modernisation of the economy of December 2016 created the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA), replacing the…
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Q8
58/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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Several bodies exist to control and audit the defence sector: – The General control of the armed forces (CGA) [1] is the internal audit…
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The AFA is under the authority of both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economy. When corruption suspicions are confirmed, the AFA…
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As explained before, the AFA does not precisely target Defence institutions, nor does it have a department specifically dedicated to fighting corruption in the…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The public view is ambivalent: on the one hand, the French are attached to…
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Q10
42/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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There is some evidence that the Ministry is moving toards a comprehensive assessment of corruption risks, but many initiatives are relatively new. The Contrôle…
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In 2020, and in accordance with the “Sapin 2” law, the Ministry of the Armed Forces (MOAF) undertook in 2020 a “corruption-risk mapping” assessment.…
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In 2020, and in accordance with the “Sapin 2” law, the Ministry of the Armed Forces (MOAF) undertook in 2020 a “corruption-risk mapping” assessment.…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
83/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The military programming law (LPM) 2019-2025 states the acquisitions, strategy, and the connections between the two, that are planned for the next 6 years.…
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The LPM, the Finance law stating the armed forces’ yearly budget, like any law, is available to the public online on open access. All…
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External oversight is carried out by Parliament. The Minister of Defence has to present the implementation of the law every semester to the Parliament…
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Q12
88/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The defence budget contains comprehensive and disaggregated information on expenditure across functions (1 and 2). Information includes personnel (salaries, allowances), military R&D, training, construction,…
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The legislature receives an accurate defence budget proposal 2 to 4 months before the start of the budget year. The last Finance Law Project,…
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Q13
75/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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Q14
83/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The defence budget is proactively published for the public in disaggregated form on the Ministry of Armed Forces website, and increasingly on the Ministry’s…
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The vast majority of the approved defence budget is fully disclosed to the media and civil society actors. There may be exceptions made for…
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As explained earlier in the study, France has a very broad definition of “military secrecy”. Five million documents are classified under the “secret-défense” label.…
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Q15
67/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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There is full publication of the defence income from the State budget allocation through the Military Programming Law (LPM) and the Finance Law Bill…
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The Cour des comptes stems from article XV of the Declaration of Human & Citizen Rights of 1789. [1] It is an independent institution.…
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There is some scrutiny by the public, mostly by the media (often from defence-specialised journalists). The 2017 warning issued by the Cour des Comptes…
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Q16
63/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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There is an internal audit service called “Audit Centre of the Armed Forces” (C2A). The C2A reports to the Major General of the Army…
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Reports of the CGA can be overviewed by the Defence Committees of the Senate and National Assembly upon request, provided their members are granted…
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Documents produced by the CGA are intended for the information of the Minister of the Armed Forces, not for the information of the public,…
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The ministry has no obligation to act upon CGA recommendations. It tends however to react to Cour des Comptes findings because of the impact…
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Q17
88/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The Cour des comptes has the mandate to review the defence sector, and regularly audits military defence spending in a formal, in-depth process. [1]…
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The Cour des comptes is headed by a first president, appointed by decree of the President of the French Republic. In order to guarantee…
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All audits and reports by the Cour des comptes are not published online. But the reports that are available for open access online are…
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When sent an audit report by the Cour des comptes, the Ministry of the Armed Forces is required to give an answer about the…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
92/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Defence institutions do not “own” anything; they have the usufruct of what the Ministry of the Armed Forces, and the State, have at their…
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No cases of defence institutions being involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation were found. An expert of the economy of…
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There are isolated cases of individual defence personnel being involved in businesses related to natural resource exploitation [1]. This activity is illicit.
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ because there is no evidence that France’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ because there is no evidence that France’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with…
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Organised Crime
Q19
75/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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After thorough research into media investigations and prosecution reports, no evidence was found of any recent military involvement in sectors in which organised crime…
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The government seems to be aware of the possibility of penetration of organised crime into all sectors of politics and the economy. It regularly…
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Q20
75/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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As we have seen before, the Contrôle Général des Armées (CGA) is not involved in investigating corruption or organised crime within the defence sector.…
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The French police and judicial system (and their budgets) are completely separated and independent from the executive and military. The BCLC and judges can…
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Cases are investigated or prosecuted through formal processes, but once again, the “secrecy of defence” label can censor investigations. In the context of a…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
63/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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Several bodies exist to scrutinise the intelligence services : The parliamentary intelligence delegation (DPR) was created by law n°2007-1443 of October 9, 2007. Shared…
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DPR members have “secret-défense” clearance, which means they have access to classified information, though it was not possible to ascertain what level of classification…
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Q22
25/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The criteria for selection for senior positions are unclear, as no objective selection criteria list exists. Senior positions within the intelligence services are generally…
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Senior positions in the intelligence services are primarily a gift of the executive. [1] They are chosen by the executive and appointed by decree…
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There is a vetting process to ensure the senior staff is eligible to have access to “secrecy of defence” information, but this vetting process…
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Export Controls
Q23
50/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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France signed the ATT on June 3, 2013, and ratified it on April 2, 2014. [1]
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There is not enough information to score this indicator. France signed the ATT in 2013, and ratified it in 2014. However, since the French…
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The Inter-ministerial committee for the export of war material (CIEEMG) is the authority granting export licences to arms manufacturers. It is placed under the…
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Lobbying in Defence
Since the Sapin 2 law of 2016 on “Transparency, anti-corruption and modernisation of public life”, [1] some progress has been made. Lobbyists now have…
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According to the “Law Sapin 2”, lobbyists have to declare themselves and their activities to the HATVP. Since the inclusion of the Ethics law…
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France has a mandatory registration system. Every lobbyist is compelled by law [1] to provide the HATVP with the following information: its identity (if…
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The HATVP is the oversight entity. A lobbyist who doesn’t declare and publish their activities on the HATVP platform – of their own initiative…
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