Minister of the Interior (, ) is the

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

, traditionally responsible for internal security and territorial administration. The minister ensures the maintenance and cohesion of the country's institutions throughout the territory. The current Minister of the Interior is

Bruno Retailleau Bruno Daniel Marie Paul Retailleau (; born 20 November 1960) is a French politician who has served as Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Interior and Minister of State in the Bayrou government, as well as the preceding Barnier gov ...

, who has held the position since September 21, 2024.

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 *** the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

for its police operations since 2009; as a part of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

, 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 Government of France, French Government. It operates for the Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civ ...

) *** the directorate of

Firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s (

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 (

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

identity card An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

s) and

driving license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit 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, car ...

s through the network of

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

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 whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, 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 areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

and departmental

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' ...

and

subprefect A subprefect is a senior government official in several countries at the local level, such as Brazil and France. Brazil In Brazil, a subprefect (''subprefeito'') is the highest official of a subprefecture, which is a subdivision of certain large ...

s 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 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 {{disambig ...

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, when

François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest (12 March 173526 February 1821), was a French politician and diplomat during the Ancien Régime and French Revolution. Biography Early life and career Born in Grenoble, he was admitted as a ' ...

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. During the First Empire, the Interior Ministry's tasks were reduced; in 1824, the

Ministry of Public Instruction Ministry of Public Instruction and the leadership post Minister of Public Instruction may refer to historical names of the following government bodies: * Ministry of National Education (France) * Ministry of Public Education (Italy) ** Minister of ...

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 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 The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment ...

, 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 The Place Beauvau (English: Beauvau Square) is a public square in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, at the intersection of the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, the Avenue de Marigny, the Rue des Saussaies and the Rue de Miromesnil. It is located in ...

, facing the

Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (, ) is the official residence of the President of France, President of the French Republic in Paris. Completed in 1722, it was built for Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, a nobleman and army officer who had been appointed g ...

, since 1861. "Place Beauvau" is often used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

for the ministry.

Organisation

The Minister of the Interior has been

Gérald Darmanin Gérald Moussa Jean Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician serving as Minister of Justice (France), Minister of Justice in the Bayrou government. He previously served as Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Inter ...

since 6 July 2020. He succeeded

Christophe Castaner Christophe Castaner (; born 3 January 1966) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Interior from 16 October 2018 to 6 July 2020 under President Emmanuel Macron. He had been elected in 2017 for a three-year term as chairman (''délég ...

, 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 State Secretary for the Social and Solidarity Economy and Associative Life, attached to the Prime Minister, in the Borne government (2022–2023), as Mi ...

, 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 (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020. Castex served for twelve years as mayor of the small town of ...

External links

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Responsibilities

History

Location

Organisation

See also

External links