France has a new Prime minister, soon a new government: but for how long?
Nine days after the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly which toppled the Barnier government, François Bayrou has been appointed Prime Minister by the President of the Republic. Aged 73, François Bayrou, a former teacher of literature and classical languages in his youth, is an old-timer in French politics, where for 30 years he […]
Barnier administration: can agriculture expect to see a major piece of legislation?
Cabinet Samman published an opinion piece in Zepros magazine, the leading media for elected officials and civil servants in local and regional authorities, on the proposed agricultural framework law, the examination of which could resume in Parliament in the coming weeks. The piece looks back at the movement of anger in the farming world […]
The Critical Role of Pseudonymization in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Moving Beyond Binary Approaches
Pseudonymization plays a central role in data protection in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven innovation. While emerging technologies offer unprecedented opportunities in various sectors, they also present significant challenges in terms of confidentiality and the protection of individual rights. Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), of which pseudonymization is an integral part, are essential […]
Reaffirming freedom of expression in the digital space: a challenge for our democracy
The digital revolution has offered us all the possibility of freely expressing ourselves on social media without intermediation. At the same time, these new spaces of freedom have witnessed the emergence of negative side effects, such as misinformation, hate speech, and the manipulation of opinion. The working group on “Reaffirming freedom of expression in the […]
AI and Local Government: How the AI Act is Shaping the Future of Public Services
AI conversational assistants will soon be able to answer a wide range of questions from public service users—whether it’s to request a change in garbage truck schedules, find out how many times a day bus passes by the school, or learn which municipalities in France use biometric cameras. However, for these systems to function effectively, […]
White smoke (at last): France has a new Government
The new government team was announced on Saturday evening, September 21st. Its members come mostly from parties on the right and center-right, with a delicate balance between members of the President’s own Renaissance party, which bagged the highest number of seats in the government (12 ministers), and the party of the traditional right Les Républicains […]
Political Weekly Update August 2nd
On Sunday, June 9th, 2024, a new political and institutional era opened in France. President Macron’s announcement that he was dissolving the National Assembly, which came as a bombshell on the night of a heavy defeat for the presidential majority in the European elections, has opened a new period that should usher in major changes […]
Editorial
“This unprecedented context could be an opportunity for democracy to adjust and enter a new stage of maturity.” On the evening of Sunday, July 7th, France turned a new page in its institutional history. Since the proclamation of the results of the 2nd round of the snap legislative elections, the country is discovering and […]
French snap elections – 2nd round results and next steps
Below are the official results of the 2nd round of the legislative elections held June 30th and July 7th, as well as the possible government scenarios and next steps. An unprecedented political period is opening in France, characterized by numerous uncertainties. Official results Turnout: 66.63%. By way of reminder, the turnout for the 1st […]
Issue Brief on the Adoption of Finance Bills in France
Could a Hung Parliament Result in the Rejection of the Annual Budget Law and Lead to a “French Shutdown”? Executive summary The 1958 Constitution of the Fifth Republic and the 2001 Organic law on Financial Acts (LOLF) provide a strict framework for parliamentary scrutiny of fiscal laws and lay down a series of mechanisms […]