French MPs adopt bill on foreign interference

Lawmakers in the French National Assembly on Wednesday backed a bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party to combat foreign interference by a large majority of 171 votes to 25.

“What is at stake is the protection of our sovereignty, our democratic and liberal values, and the protection of the nation’s interests”, said Sacha Houlié, Renaissance chairman of the French Law Commission and rapporteur for the bill, as he opened the debate on Tuesday.

The text, which was largely adopted in plenary on Wednesday, with only France Insoumise (LFI) voting against and the Gauche Démocratique et Républicaine (GDR) abstaining, consists of four articles.

In particular, it provides for a four-year trial, allowing the intelligence services to use algorithmic surveillance techniques currently reserved exclusively for the fight against terrorism.

This measure was initially strongly criticised by the left-wing parties, who feared possible repercussions on individual freedoms.

“The debates in the National Assembly have made it possible to clarify the text, which limits the use of algorithms to cases of foreign interference and the fight against terrorism”, ecologist MP Jérémie Iordanoff told Euractiv.

The text also provides for creating a register of “interest representatives acting on behalf of a foreign principal” controlled by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP).

This will include lobbyists, communicators, and fundraisers who act on behalf of governments, state-controlled companies, and foreign political parties.

The bill is based on a report published in November by the Parliamentary Delegation for Intelligence (DPR), which found that the available tools are “effective” but “sometimes insufficient given the intensification of the threat.”

It will now be examined by the Senate in May.

(Clara Bauer-Babef | Euractiv.fr) 

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