The Fichier National Automatisé des Empreintes Génétiques () is the French national

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

, used by both the national police force and local gendarmerie.

Origins and evolution

In June 1998, the Guigou law on the prevention of sexually-related crimes, passed by the

Plural Left The Gauche Plurielle (French for ''Plural Left'') was a left-wing coalition in France, composed of the Socialist Party (''Parti socialiste'' or PS), the French Communist Party (''Parti communiste français'' or PCF), the Greens, the Left Radi ...

Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...

government, created a national DNA database. The implementation, originally planned for 1999, was finally completed in 2001, with the database itself located at

Écully Écully () is a suburban Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, central-eastern France. It is a northwestern suburb of Lyon, bordering its 9th arrondissement of Lyon, 9th arron ...

in the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, managed by a subdirectorate of the technical and scientific departments of the French police force. In the aftermath of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the US in 2001, the French government increased the scope of the database to include DNA related to other serious criminal offences, such as voluntary manslaughter, criminal violence and terrorism. A further 'law for interior safety' introduced on 18 March 2003 expanded the scope still further to cover almost all violent crimes to people or property, serious crimes such as drug trafficking, simple thefts, tags and dégradations, and finally almost all ''small'' offenses, but not traffic offenses or crimes committed abroad. Samples are taken from convicted persons and also from simple suspects. The law does not specify a minimum age.8 et 11 ans, ils sont menacés de fichage génétique pour vol de jouets''
dans ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' daté du 05 mai 2007 In September 2009, Matthieu Bonduelle, the general secretary of the ''Syndicat de la Magistrature'' (the first syndicat of juges) has declared that "nobody defends a universal database, but, in fact, it is being done."

Le Canard enchaîné (; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism ...

, "L'ADN fiche la trouille", article of Dominique Simonnot, mercredi 16 septembre 2009, p. 4.''Ouvrez la bouche, vous êtes fiché''
article in

, of 18 September 2009.

Relative size

*As at 1 October 2003, FNAEG was understood to contain the DNA records of approximately 8,000 convicted criminals and another 3,200 suspects. *In 2006, this number was believed to now be in excess of 330,000 entries.''A 8 et 11 ans, ils sont menacés de fichage génétique pour vol de jouets''
''

'' 7 May 2007 *In May 2007, this number was believed to now be in excess of nearly 500,000 entries. *In December 2009, there were 1.27 million entries.

Privacy concerns

With the expansion of the database in 2003, it also became an offence for suspects to fail to provide a DNA sample, with punishment ranging from a prison sentence of between six months and two years, and a fine of between €7500 and €30000. At the end of 2006, the media raised the case of individuals refusing to provide DNA samples. Many of them were

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

activists opposed to

Genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

(GMO) ''(See '' fr:Faucheurs volontaires'')''. Although this was only around 200 cases, they denounced what they regarded as a threat to personal freedom.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Fichier national automatisé des empreintes génétiques

On the official Website of the french ''ministère de l’intérieur'' : Fichier national automatisé des empreintes génétiques
Human genetics Identity documents Biometrics Government databases in France National DNA databases Privacy in France Forensic databases Biological databases

Origins and evolution

Relative size

Privacy concerns

See also

References

External links