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Minister of the Interior (french: Ministre de l'Intérieur; ) is a prominent position in the Government of France. The position is equivalent to the interior minister in other countries, like the
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the
Minister of Public Safety The minister of public safety (french: ministre de la sécurité publique) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the internal security department of the Government of Canada. The ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, or similar to a combination of the Attorney General and the
Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.


Responsibilities

The Minister of the Interior is responsible for the following: * The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes ** including the major law-enforcement forces *** the
National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...
*** the
National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Mini ...
for its police operations since 2009; as a part of the French Armed Forces, the Gendarmerie is administratively under the purview of the Ministry of Armed Forces ** General directorate for civil defence and crisis management (
Sécurité Civile The (General directorate for civil defense and crisis management) is a civil defense agency of the French Government. It operates for the Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civilian and military personnel over 60 sites. Known as the ...
) *** the directorate of Firefighters (
Sapeurs-Pompiers The fire service in France is organised into local fire services which mostly cover the Departments of France, with a few exceptions. There are two types of fire service: *The Paris Fire Brigade (Army) and Marseille Naval Fire Battalion (Navy) a ...
) * the granting of identity documents ( passports,
identity card An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID card, citizen ca ...
s) and
driving license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
s through the network of
prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
and subprefectures * relations between the central government and local governments * logistics and organisation of political
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...
, at the national and prefectoral levels; the results of the elections are overseen by the Constitutional Council or the administrative courts * regulation of immigration and preventing illegal immigration * integration of legal immigrants (professionally, linguistically, housing) * all
regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
and
departmental ''Departmental'' is a 1980 Australian TV movie based on a play by Mervyn Rutherford. It was part of the ABC's Australian Theatre Festival.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p43 Reviews were poor ...
prefects Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
and subprefects are subordinate to the Minister of the Interior The Minister of the Interior also takes on the role of the former Minister of Worship and is formally consulted in the process of appointment of Catholic diocesan bishops ( Briand-Ceretti Agreement). The Minister of Worship used to be a fully-fledged position; the office was abolished in 1912. While the Ministry of the Interior supervises police forces, it does not supervise criminal enquiries. Those enquiries are conducted under the supervision of the
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
.


History

The
Minister for the Maison du Roi The Minister for the Maison du Roi was a cabinet role under the French monarchy, conferring leadership of the Maison du Roi. Ancien Régime Under the Ancien Régime the ministerial post at the head of the Maison du Roi was a '' Secrétaire d'à ...
under the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...
is considered to be the precursor of the position of Minister of the Interior, which was officially established on 7 August 1790, during the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, when François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest became the inaugural officeholder. Although his tasks included the organisation of elections, relations with local authorities, agriculture, as well as trade, the Minister of the Interior's main duty was to oversee the functioning of police forces. This has been the case since then, with the exception of the period from 1796 to 1818, when a Ministry of Police was in use, which was also briefly restored under the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
. During the
First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...
, the Interior Ministry's tasks were reduced; in 1824, the Ministry of Public Instruction was established to oversee France's education policy. In 1832, the Interior Ministry was primarily occupied with the holding of elections and maintenance of the firefighters force, as the
Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
and national public libraries were transferred to the Public Instruction Ministry. In 1836, the Ministry of Public Works, Agriculture and Commerce was established. In 1911, the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration, established in 1858 in the Interior Ministry to oversee prison conditions, was placed under the authority of the
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
. Nine years later, the Interior Ministry lost its public health policy department to the newly established Ministry of Hygiene, Assistance and Social Security.


Location

The ministry's headquarters have been located on Place Beauvau, facing the Élysée Palace, since 1861. "Place Beauvau" is often used as a metonym for the ministry.


Organisation

The Minister of the Interior has been
Gérald Darmanin Gérald Moussa Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister of the Interior in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean Castex and Élisabeth Borne since 2020. A former member of The Republicans (L ...
since 6 July 2020. He succeeded
Christophe Castaner Christophe Castaner (; born 3 January 1966) is a French politician, former minister of parliament, and former Minister of the Interior from 16 October 2018 to 6 July 2020. In 2017, he was elected for a 3 year term as chairman (''délégué géné ...
, who was appointed to the office on 16 October 2018. Darmanin is assisted by
Marlène Schiappa Marlène Schiappa (, ; born 18 November 1982) is a French writer and politician who served as Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship, attached to the Minister of the Interior, in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex (2020–2022) an ...
, who holds the junior title of Minister for Citizenship in the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served f ...
.


See also

* List of Interior Ministers of France


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minister Of The Interior (France) Interior