France holds 15.18 % of the EU population. Its government supports mandatory scanning of private messages, or the widest scanning scope in Council, since 23 Jul 2026.
Supports Last checked 22 October 2026
Résumé en français
Selon ce registre, le gouvernement français est favorable à la détection obligatoire dans les messages privés et défend au Conseil un champ d’application aussi large que possible. En septembre 2025, la France a salué les injonctions de détection et l’analyse côté client (client-side scanning). En juin 2026, elle a déclaré qu’un champ d’application large pour la détection volontaire n’était pas négociable.
Dans une déclaration annexée au vote du Conseil du 23 juillet 2026, la France s’est dite gravement préoccupée par l’amendement du Parlement européen qui exclut les communications chiffrées, dont elle juge la formulation très large. Elle a voté pour le mandat de négociation du Conseil le 26 novembre 2025 et pour Chat Control 1.0, le retour de la détection volontaire, en juillet 2026.
Sur les 81 députés européens élus en France, 44 ont voté le 9 juillet 2026 pour le rejet de Chat Control 1.0 et 16 contre ce rejet. Le dossier relève du ministre de l’Intérieur, Laurent Nuñez, et du ministre de la Justice, Gérald Darmanin. La France représente 15,18 % de la population de l’UE.
Résumé au 10 octobre 2026. Le registre en anglais ci-dessous fait foi ; il indique une source pour chaque élément.
What the government has said
“They express their serious concern regarding the amendment adopted by the European Parliament on the exclusion of encrypted communications. The wording used is very broad.”Statement by France annexed to the Council vote, 23 July 2026
Receipt: Statement by France, Council voting result 12382/26, 23 Jul 2026
Welcomed detection orders and client-side scanning in September 2025 and says there is no room for negotiation on a broad scope for voluntary scanning (June 2026).
How it voted in the Council
- Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025
- yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.
- Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026
- yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.
A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.
How its MEPs voted
On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 81 MEPs elected in France, 44 voted to reject it, 16 voted against rejection, 8 abstained and 13 did not vote.
- 44 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
- 16 against rejection, letting the text pass
- 8 abstained
- 13 did not vote
The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.
Who decides in France
- Minister
- Laurent Nuñez, Minister of the Interior. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin. France’s statement of 23 Jul 2026 was annexed to the Council vote
- Ministry in charge
- Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice
- Permanent representation
- Ambassador Philippe Léglise-Costa, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Cyril Piquemal, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)
Timeline
- Recorded as supports. Receipt: Statement by France, Council voting result 12382/26, 23 Jul 2026 source
- Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. France: yes.
- European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in France: 44 for rejection, 16 against, 8 abstained, 13 did not vote. source
- Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. France: yes.
Sources
- Statement by France, Council voting result 12382/26, 23 Jul 2026 (receipt)
- Council minutes, 12 Sep 2025 (welcomes detection orders and client-side scanning), via netzpolitik.org
- Council minutes, 10 Jun 2026 (‘no room for negotiation’), via netzpolitik.org
- Assemblee nationale European resolution, 3 Dec 2025
- Permanent Representation of France to the EU
- Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from
This page is one of 27 records behind Where the 27 governments stand. Together the governments against hold 32.9 % of the EU population; a blocking minority needs more than 35 %.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Data for all 27: JSON · CSV. Found a mistake? Tell us; we correct openly and say what changed.
Cite as: Brussels Record, “France: position on Chat Control”, last checked 22 October 2026, https://brusselsrecord.com/member-states/france/
