'A time bomb for civil liberties': France adopts a new biometric ID card

On Tuesday March 6, the French National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) passed a law proposing the creation of a new biometric ID card for French citizens with the justification of combating 'identity fraud'. More than 45 million individuals in France will have their fingerprints and digitized faces stored in what would be the largest biometric database in the country. The bill was immediately met with negative reactions. Yesterday more than 200 members of the French Parliament referred it to the Conseil constitutional, challenging its compatibility with Europeans' fundamental rights framework, including the right to privacy and the presumption of innocence. The Conseil will consider whether the law is contrary to the French Constitution.