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Local France
a day ago
- Politics
- Local France
Who can sign parliamentary petitions in France?
The controversial Loi Duplomb was voted into law in on July 8th, shortly before French MPs went on holiday. It was introduced in response to the 2024 farmers' protests and – among a number of measures to 'simplify' farming administration – it also reopens the door to the use of a controversial pesticide. READ ALSO French petition against return of bee-killing pesticide passes 1 million Two days after the law was passed, a petition demanding its immediate repeal, a review of the conditions under which it was adopted, and a citizen consultation was launched on the National Assembly's website and by July 22nd had passed 1.6 million signatures. Advertisement But can non-French citizens add their signatures to it? Or start their own? The answer to both those questions is: yes, with conditions. The front page of the parliamentary petitions website clearly states: 'Any adult, of French nationality or legally resident in France, may submit or sign a petition on the National Assembly's petitions platform.' So far, so straightforward. But there's an additional requirement. To actually sign or start a petition, would-be signatories who are over the age of 18 must have a France Connect account – which, in turn, requires them to hold a permanent French social security number. READ ALSO What is France Connect and how could it make your life simpler? This step restricts the signing of online French parliamentary petitions to anyone legally resident in France. It also means that people can only sign once. This applies only to parliamentary petitions done via the National Assembly website - more informal local petitions, such as a petition to save your local leisure centre, have their own rules although you will usually be required to provide a French address. What about EU petitions? Similar rules are in place. The European Commissions petitions portal says that any EU citizen, anyone living in an EU country, and any company, organisation or association with its headquarters in an EU country can petition the European Parliament on matters that 'concern one of the EU's policy areas'. You can do this online or by post. If you are starting or signing a petition online, you need to register with the European Parliament Petitions Portal Non-EU citizens living in France cannot vote at any level while people who are EU citizens but are not French can only vote in local or European elections. So signing a petition is one of the few ways that you can make your voice heard in the country of your residence (that and joining a manifestation , of course, anyone can turn up for a demo).
Local France
21-02-2025
- Local France
What is France Identité and can foreigners use it?
As a one-step process for proving your ID or getting access to digital versions of vital documents for French life, France Identité sounds great. However as a foreigner in France, you may not be able to use it. What is France Identité? France Identité is an app created by the French government and providing a secure short-cut to access official websites. It also allows you to provide a digital proof of your ID and/or address when required, and offers an online ID-proof service that allows you to provide proof of your identity without having to divulge personal details to an external website. It's also used to access digital versions of key French documents - at present you can get a digital driving licence, next to be rolled out is the digital carte vitale and it seems likely that other documents will follow. The app is available now as either iOs or Android versions. Who can use it? Here's the bad news - in order to set up an account with France Identité you will need a French ID card, the carte nationale d'identité (CNI). Other forms of ID like a driver's licence, residency permit or passport cannot be used. The carte nationale d'identité is only issued to people who are French citizens - so foreigners cannot use the app unless they have French citizenship. French citizens can use it provided they have the new-style ID card - the ones that are the same size and shape as a credit card. This means that non French nationals cannot use the new digital version of the French driving licence, and will not be able to use the digital version of the carte vitale when that is rolled out, since these are provided via France Identité. In fact anything that offers you a shortcut via France Identité will not be available. Alternatives to using it In good news, the digital versions of the driving licence and carte vitale remain optional, so foreigners will just have to continue using the physical card. Likewise the shortcut to access on French official websites is not available, but you can still get in via entering your email address and password, or by using France Connect. French rail operators SNCF have also announced that France Identité can be used to prove your ID while on a train - but inspectors will still accept proof of ID via other means such as a residency permit or passport. Not to be confused with France Identité is not the same as Identité Numérique - this is another online ID verification tool that allows a shortcut to secure access to French government sites, but instead of being run by the government it is run by La Poste. Identité numérique can be used by some foreigners but not all - if you are not a French or EU citizen you will need to use your residency permit to confirm your identity, and only multi-year cartes de séjour are accepted. Full details on how Identité numérique works HERE. The one useful admin shortcut that everyone can use is France Connect - this is more basic than the two ID apps, but does allow you easier access to French government websites.
