Although much progresses have been made on the Charter’s principles 2 to 6, meeting its first principle remains elusive. The Open by Default principle has been stalled by an extensive understanding of the law on business confidentiality, which has been used extensively to block access to government documents even in case of remote link to business interests. For instance, news organisations and NGOs have complained that the delays, uncertainties and too often refusals from the Administrative Documents Access Commission (CADA), the last resort to access documents withheld by the government, do not allow the effective access to administrative document when the government is stalling.

Peer reviewer: 1

Updated: October 31, 2020

France has high standards in relation to Open Data. However, two critical datasets remain closed to the public at the present time: land registry data and beneficial ownership data. These are critical to fighting money laundering and corruption. Plus, court decision data remain partially available: only 3% of the 3 million court decisions handed down each year in France are accessible to the public.

Peer reviewer: 1

Updated: April 30, 2020

In general, France is actively moving foward. The open tender site (data.gouv.fr) is more and more documented and well-known. Open data by default is now required by law and is being implemented (actual implementation and level of maturity on this issue still differ from one entity to another). The growing public culture of open data by default is yet counterbalanced by a few forefront debates with citizens requiring more transparency on some algorithm or data (e.g. : Parcours Sup).”

Updated: October 30, 2019