France Rejects Encryption Crackdown: Assembly Votes Down Privacy-Weakening Proposal

The French National Assembly voted against a proposal aimed at weakening the privacy protections of encrypted messaging platforms, despite persistent efforts by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to introduce measures granting authorities access to the communications of individuals suspected of drug trafficking. The vote, held late on the evening of March 20, was marked by a technical malfunction, necessitating a manual roll-call vote that concluded just before midnight: 119 deputies opposed the measure, while only 24 supported it.

Retailleau had proposed requiring platforms such as Signal and WhatsApp to disclose user communications upon request from intelligence agencies. However, even during preliminary discussions within the legislative committee, the proposal was met with fierce opposition from cybersecurity experts, civil rights advocates, and representatives of the tech industry. Critics warned that enabling even limited access to encrypted messages would create systemic vulnerabilities, jeopardizing the privacy and security of all users—not merely criminals.

Debate in the chamber was heated, with some describing attempts to reintroduce the controversial measure through amendments as a backdoor maneuver, likening the amendment’s sponsors to “the minister’s artillery.” The technical failure that disrupted the initial vote sparked suspicions of a cyberattack, though Vice President Naïma Moutchou later explained the issue was caused by nothing more than an overheated component.

As deputies cast their votes one by one, criticism of the bill remained unabated. The central concern was that the legislation posed a threat to overall digital security and infringed upon citizens’ privacy under the guise of combating crime. Members of the Left Coalition, the Greens, and the Communists accused the government of aspiring to implement “total surveillance.”

Earlier that same evening, however, the Assembly approved a separate measure—an experimental program to employ algorithmic surveillance in the fight against organized crime. These technologies, already in use for counterterrorism purposes, are now set to be deployed more broadly. Nonetheless, lawmakers expressed outrage over the absence of legally mandated reports assessing the effectiveness of such surveillance tools. They argued the initiative resembled “deep-sea fishing” more than targeted oversight.

Meanwhile, deliberations continued over a sweeping anti-narcotics bill. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin received a comparatively measured response from the chamber. Most notably, a rare moment of consensus emerged between the government and the opposition regarding the reform of the legal status of cooperating offenders. Even members of the Left Party, including Antoine Léaument, voiced support for this provision, despite their broader skepticism toward the rest of the legislation.