Preparing France’s entry

Introduction 3

Key issues involved in the information society 4

Six priority areas 6

New information and communications technology tools in the education sector 8

An ambitious cultural policy for new networks 14

Information technology as a tool for modernising public services 24

Information technology, an essential tool for companies 36

Meeting the challenges of industrial and technological innovation 44

Encouraging the emergence of effective regulation and a protective framework for new information networks 57

Implementation method 64

Well-coordinated action at national and international level 66

Engaging public debate on France’s entry into the information society 72

Appendix 1 75

Appendix 2 80

The emergence of the information society is reflected by a variety of profound transformations. With the use of information technology and networks becoming widespread, the computerisation of our society, which has been heralded since the end of the 1970s, is now a reality concretely reflecting the concept of the "information society".

The digitisation of information, the computerisation of production and information exchange methods, the growth in percentage of the country’s wealth represented by non-material goods and the development of new networks, such as the Internet, have serious consequences for our economy, and also for the lives of our people.

These transformations, which are leading to fundamental changes in our society, mean that the conditions for France’s entry into the information society are of decisive importance for our future.

The economic issues are obvious. The multimedia industry - which includes the computer, telecommunications and audiovisual sectors - is now one of the driving forces for economic growth and offers a promising pool of jobs.

Information is becoming a strategic commodity, one of the conditions of our competitiveness.

Products resulting from intellectual activity already represent a key percentage of our collective wealth, and will do so even more in the future. To a great extent, international competition in the next century will be a battle of intelligence.

The profound changes brought about by information technology go far beyond straightforward economic issues: the increase in new information and communications networks offers promising social, cultural and, ultimately, political prospects.

The development of new worldwide information networks like the Internet represents a considerable challenge for States, used to intervening in a well-controlled national context. The rise in the circulation of personal data and the increasingly important place of information and communications technology in the professional environment are giving rise to numerous concerns.

However, the promise inherent in the information society justifies an optimistic vision of our future. Entry into the information society may lead to a more integrated, more open and more democratic society.

This is why the government is offering the people of France a project and a political vision of information and communications technology founded on the ambition to create an integrated information society.

The government action programme for the information society marks the State’s commitment, stressing, sector by sector, the issues and priorities, accompanied by concrete proposals.

This document, which mixes medium-term strategic orientations and operational measures, aims to outline the directions to be taken by government action in this area in years to come.

The government action programme will act as a reference for government departments, but also, and in particular, for the other players in society who are calling for determined and sustained State intervention.

The government’s approach aims to make a clear distinction between those areas in which direct State intervention is required, such as modernising public services or developing information and communication technology in education, and areas in which the State can simply set an example, offer encouragement and increase awareness.

The government is fully convinced that solutions in this field cannot be imposed on society by the public authorities. Thus this programme, although it represents a general framework for public action, should not be set in stone.

On the contrary, it must be improved on the basis of the public debate which should result from the main options outlined for France’s entry into the information society.

To be effective and properly understood by the people of the country, State action must concentrate on a limited number of priorities. Government initiatives to prepare France’s entry into the information society will thus respond to the main concerns:

The intelligence battle begins at school, where the development of information and communication technology responds to a twofold objective:

To meet these objectives, the State will devote extensive resources to this key area for the future over a three-year period. This exceptional contribution will affect all education sectors, at all levels and will cover teacher training, the equipping and bringing on-line of teaching establishments, along with the production and distribution of appropriate material.

Thus, for the school sector, although expenditure on equipment is the responsibility of local authorities, the State may, using suitable methods, encourage these to guarantee equal access of pupils to information and communications technology. To this end, in 1998 the Ministry of Education, Research and Technology will offer specific support to establishments in priority education zones ("ZEPs") and rural schools.

Specific aid will also be given to further education establishments, on the basis of a plan to be drawn up by them in spring 1998, to allow all students access to information tools and networks.

Particular efforts will be devoted to increasing awareness among teachers and providing them with training, an area of absolute priority.

The potential uses of information and communications technology must be explored, with respect to both pupils and teachers, but also with respect to training methods themselves.

The activities of pupils and students using multimedia tools must be further developed

Computers can lead to pupils having a more active approach; the diversity and richness of the media available (text, images, audiovisual material) stimulate their creativity.

Using databases available on CD-Rom or on the Internet, pupils have easy and interactive access to information, and can thus produce individual work which is richer and built around projects.

Using internal school networks, pupils can exchange information and work in groups, breaking the usual inherent restrictions of their class and level of education. E-mail enables exchanges to take place both at local and international level.

Multimedia products can help pupils who have difficulties with more traditional methods of accessing information, by offering them new learning tools (vision in space, presence of sound, other relationship to written text, etc.).

Information networks can encourage exchange of ideas between teachers

Division into subject groups on the Internet, working partys, sharing of experience: these are just some of the ways in which teachers could benefit from the increased circulation of information, in terms of ongoing training and personal development.

In addition to these working methods, information and communications technology tools could promote the development of distance learning and made-to-measure teaching (self-teaching, tutored learning, etc.) which make both pupils and students the focus of teaching.

To encourage these new practices, several actions are planned:

An emergency plan for teacher training establishments has been set up

With respect to initial training, a two-year emergency plan, aimed at developing the use of this technology in teacher training establishments ("IUFMs") is currently being set up and should come into effect at the start of the 1998 academic year. One hundred posts for teaching and technical staff and 1000 jobs for young people will be allocated to these establishments to aid integration of this technology into teaching practice.

Ongoing training will be developed

Ongoing staff training, for those already in the profession, will be developed, making the best possible use of the potential offered by information and communications technology.

Increasing awareness among management staff is a priority

Management staff (establishment principals, inspecting bodies, etc.) are prime players for increasing awareness of the issues and piloting training tools integrating information and communications technology. Initiatives will be set up at inter-academic level and will be open, if required, to management staff from other ministries. Suitable information guides and self-teaching tools will be developed for these managers.

By the year 2000, the use of this technology in schools and universities will be widespread

By the year 2000, the majority of schools and universities will be equipped with networked computers, linked to the Internet and will have e-mail addresses.

Equipment-rental solutions should be given priority

Teaching establishments, and the local authorities to which they are attached, will be free to decide what equipment they require to use information and communications technology tools. However, given the rate at which the computer sector is developing, equipment-rental solutions should be given priority.

Students must be encouraged to have their own personal equipment

Initiatives will be continued to make it easier for students to have their own personal equipment, so that computers and the Internet become usual and accepted working tools.

Agreements with operators making it possible to offer favourable conditions for connecting establishments to the Internet

With respect to connection, we are currently seeing the development of alternative solutions, such as cable and soon satellite, increasing the telecommunications tools options available. So that it is possible to offer all those establishments who so wish, particularly favourable conditions for access to the Internet, agreements will be sought with the operators present on the market, in particular France Telecom, the public operator offering a universal service.

Discussions will be organised in all teaching establishments on the subject of their options with respect to information and communications technology equipment

Before summer 1998, every school, of whatever type, will organise a debate at staff meetings or board of governors meetings, to discuss the options for going on-line and equipping themselves with information and communications technology tools.

The local authority to which the establishment is attached and a representative of the director of education will be included in these discussions, which must be conducted as part of the academic development plan.

Similarly, every further education department will organise debate on this matter with all its partners.

Directors of education will draw up an information and communications technology development plan

To ensure coordination between teaching establishments, local authorities and the State, directors of education will draw up a 3-year information and communications technology development plan. In their plans, they will indicate their equipment and network-connection choices, planned teaching programmes and tools for assisting and training users, for their education authority.

In particular, the information and communications technology development plan will be based on the results of consultation within each teaching establishment.

A "resources person" will be appointed by each establishment or school group

A teacher or librarian qualified to act as a "resources person" in charge of information and communications technology must be appointed by each establishment or school group.

Plans for ensuring that students have access to information and communications technology will be developed

University chancellors will draw up a plan for ensuring student access to information and communications technology in the first half of 1998.

The State will set up a system to encourage favourable financing solutions for local authorities’ expenditure

Provision will be made to help finance projects within establishments using information and communications technology tools. In particular, its implementation ought to help balance equipment levels nationally.

Agreements will encourage companies to offer attractive rates for equipping teaching establishments

Agreements will be signed at national level with manufacturers, software suppliers and training organisations to encourage them to offer attractive rates for equipping teaching establishments. These agreements could also be at local level.

The actions of the Ministry of national Education, research and technology in this area essentially target two main themes:

A single office will be set up for educational multimedia products

The setting-up of a single office within the Technology department of the Ministry of national Education, research and technology will make it possible to concentrate expenditure on educational multimedia product projects. A policy for labelling, call for tenders and purchasing will cover all multimedia sectors: analogue and digital audiovisual products, CD-Roms, Internet, etc.

Use of La Cinquieme’s Programmes and Services Bank in the world of education will be promoted

The Ministry of national Education, research and technology intends to promote the distribution of high-speed digital audiovisual funds. In this context, its support of the BPS ("Banque de Programmes et de Services" - Programmes and Services Bank) created by the television channel, La Cinquieme, will result, in 1998, in assistance to create and distribute adapted teaching material and the monitoring of 200 experimental school sites.

To encourage educational production and innovation, several actions will be undertaken to support teaching projects and encourage the industrialisation of know-how.

A call for projects will be launched with DATAR and local authorities

A call for projects will be launched by the Ministry of national Education, research and technology, in collaboration with DATAR («Delegation a l’amenagement du territoire et a l’action regionale» - Delegation for national and regional planning and regional action) and local authorities, to support teaching projects. Financed by the national and regional planning fund, the budget allocated to this operation (10 million French Francs in 1998) will give priority to medium-sized projects to encourage numbers and diversity.

ANVAR will launch a call for teaching project proposals

ANVAR ("Agence nationale pour la valorisation de la recherche" - National agency for the economic development of research) will launch a call for proposals to aid financing of teaching projects which would make it possible to industrialise the know-how acquired by certain teachers. This initiative would make it possible to develop new enterprises in the educational multimedia sector.

Bringing together multimedia industry players and teachers

The Educasource project will offer a guide for access to educational multimedia resources

The Educasource project which is currently under development will offer all teachers and trainers an orientation point, in the form of a web site, allowing them to identify, amongst all the multimedia resources available on-line and off-line, that with the greatest teaching value.

Direct distribution of information by teachers must be encouraged

Teachers, and more especially further-education lecturers, will be encouraged to publish part of their teaching courses in a form which they deem to be suitable, on the various digital media. Aid will be provided for the development of the French on-line supply of unpublished documents, representing "grey-matter literature": theses, research reports, articles, etc.

Integration of information and communications technology into documentation services will be developed

All resource centres, and more especially university libraries, will intensify their efforts to integrate information and communications technology into their services, to create new material and to better manage their resources. Documentation services are, in fact, an ideal place to provide pupil, student and teacher access to information and communications technology. Moreover, bringing these services on-line makes it possible to considerably extend the amount of information available on the Internet and to facilitate distance learning.

The collective catalogue of all further education libraries will be completed and made available on the Internet

The production of a complete collective catalogue of all further education libraries, which can be accessed on the Internet, must be speeded up, so that it is completed in the next five years. The Ministry of national Education, research and technology will lend its support to the digitising of non-copyrighted library material, an initiative which will be based on cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Communication.

France has circulated a memorandum on school access to the Internet to the other European Union members

In autumn 1997, France circulated a memorandum on school access to the Internet to the Commission and its European partners. In France, this extensive access will be implemented in compliance with community law, which it would nevertheless seem both necessary and legitimate to adapt. It is hoped that it will be possible to redefine the idea of universal service, to ensure an equal playing field for all schools and to create the opportunity of mobilising universal service resources to this end.

On the basis of this memorandum, on the 1st of December 1997, the Telecommunications Council held a debate on the role of the Internet in schools, stressing the need for a convergence of objectives of member States.

All of our partners stressed the importance, to the competitiveness of the European economy, of equipping our young people with the tools to access the skills and knowledge enabling them to benefit from the potential of the information society, without excluding anyone.

The digital revolution has made computers and information networks into tools for creation and communication - media in the true sense of the word. This boom in the information industry has been accompanied by rapid development in materials and programmes, in particular those with a cultural flavour.

The degree of material and services currently available on the Internet in the French language is inadequate. Given our rich heritage, it is particularly paradoxical that we should be falling behind in the field of the arts, in which the Internet plays an essential distribution role.

Information and communications technology is giving rise to new skills and new artistic approaches, leading to profound changes in the arts and media industries.

Entry into the information society and appropriation of information and communications technology thus represent a major component in an ambitious cultural policy.

The Government intends to increase its support for the creation of multimedia material and services, digitising France’s cultural heritage and using arts training and access sites to facilitate mastery of information technology tools.

The new information networks represent an ideal tool to help reinforce the international presence of France and the French language, and their use must be encouraged to promote France’s cultural influence.

The existing systems for providing aid for creation, which rely mainly on the actions of the CNC ("Centre national de la cinematographie" - National Cinematography Centre) and the IFCIC ("Institut de financement du cinema et des industries culturelles" - Institute for the financing of cinema and arts industries) will be strengthened and adapted.

Aid awarded by the CNC will be increased by 50% in 1998

In 1998, more than 25 million French Francs will be allocated to assist multimedia programmes, given in the form of reimbursable advances. This initiative will make it possible to meet the development needs of the multimedia publishing sector and to respond to a new, rapidly growing need for on-line services.

A new system has been set up to encourage the press to develop its multimedia activities

Developments in information and communications technology and the rise of the Internet represent major challenges for the future of the written press.

A multimedia aid fund for the press, worth 15 million French Francs, has been created to promote trials of new products and services, the economic development of editorial resources and the use of networks by journalists.

In addition, the Fund to aid modernising of the daily and allied press, to be set up in 1998, should benefit multimedia projects.

The arts industry guarantee fund managed by the IFCIC will be more widely accessible to multimedia production

The arts industry guarantee fund managed by the IFCIC is aimed at multimedia publishing and production companies. In 1998, the resources available will make it possible to guarantee outstanding bank credit for a total sum of 60 million French Francs.

Public aid for the use of information technology in the publishing sector will be developed

The digital audiovisual industry represents the perfect convergence of computer, telecommunications and audiovisual technology.

Several major projects will be started in 1998 in the public audiovisual sector.

The Programmes and Services Bank will be operational in 1998

La Cinquieme’s BPS ("Banque de Programmes et de Services - Programmes and services bank) will fulfil the audiovisual documentary needs of initial and ongoing training, offering programmes on request, broadcast by satellite following selection via the Internet.

Following the trial conducted in 1997, almost 400 sites will be equipped in 1998 and will have access to more than 3000 audiovisual programmes.

The Ministry of Culture and communication has made BPS a priority, allocating this project a budget of 22.5 million French Francs

The INA will develop its multimedia applications and archive digitisation

Developments in information and communications technology are leading to fundamental changes in the archiving tasks of the INA ("Institut national de l’audiovisuel" - National audiovisual institute). This institute is continuing to digitise its archives and will set up a multimedia production studio. These modernisations will be allocated a total budget of 17 million French Francs.

The public audiovisual sector will develop its presence on the Internet

The Internet is an ideal tool for developing the public audiovisual sector and, in particular, its international distribution.

The web site of RFI (Radio France International), voted the best media site in 1997, makes it possible to extend RFI’s audience and to supplement the information that it offers. In 1998, it will be improved with the addition of a database on French songs.

The reorganisation of TV5’s web site, and in particular its linking-up to the educational programmes site, will be another example in 1998 of the potential represented by the Internet for the audiovisual sector.

Cultural products are currently the subject of varying VAT levels: 2.1% for the daily press, 5.5% for others, such as books, and, finally, 20.6% for multimedia products.

With respect to VAT, France cannot unilaterally decide to make changes to the categories of products to which reduced rates are applicable.

Any application of a reduced VAT rate to all cultural products or services would thus require revision of the EU list of products and services eligible for this reduced rate, which, in turn, would require a European Commission initiative and the unanimous agreement of all member States. To date, the European Commission has opposed any modifications to this list.

However, on the 24th of November 1997, at the Council of ministers meeting on culture and the audiovisual industry, the European Commission announced that a study on the effects of reducing VAT on CD-Roms and interactive compact disks (ICDs) is to be launched.

The organisation of protection of copyright is not just a traditionally important issue in cultural policy and intellectual property laws. It is also a key condition to encourage multimedia creation and expression and the development of corresponding industries and services.

Government action to protect copyright is concentrating on the international context

To a great extent, government action with respect to protection of copyright is being conducted within a framework of international negotiations.

In October 1997, France signed two treaties, on copyright and related rights, which were prepared in 1996 as part of the World Organisation of Industrial Property (WOIP). These treaties extend the scope of protection of work, by including digital forms.

France will play an active part in European negotiations to be held in 1998

In 1998, France will play an active part in negotiations on the draft directive relating to "copyright and related rights in the information society" adopted by the European Commission on the 10th of December 1997. Europe-wide ratification of the 1996 WOIP treaties will be dependent on the results of these negotiations.

Transposition of the European directive relative to databases is being undertaken

In 1998, a law will be brought before parliament to enable transposition of the European directive relative to databases, which aims, in particular, to define the guarantees offered to database producers.

The setting-up of an identification system for digital work must be encouraged

Application of the existing and future legal framework relative to protection of copyright presupposes the setting-up of standardised identification systems for digital work and the authors of such work, in which the French organisations concerned will act as a driving force.

Procedures for managing rights must be simplified

The development of multimedia works, in compliance with copyright regulations, requires significant simplification of authorisation procedures for the use of published works.

In 1998, the public authorities will act to support the organisation of professionals and to require the public bodies involved to instigate more efficient management of rights.

Digitisation of cultural collections will be extended

Operations to develop the artistic heritage of museums in the form of digital databases and multimedia programmes will be continued and reinforced according to three main themes:

The total budget allocated to digitisation of artistic heritage in 1998 will be 12 million French Francs.

The digital collections of France’s National Library will be enlarged

The Internet will represent a spectacular tool for making access to our libraries’ and museums’ cultural heritage more democratic. Its worldwide nature will also make it a relatively inexpensive tool for promoting our cultural resources.

A plan for distributing public cultural data on the Internet will be developed

A Ministry of Culture and Communication working party will develop a plan for distributing public cultural data on the Internet before the end of the first half of 1998 for each department of the Ministry.

The proposals submitted by this working party will be the subject of extensive discussions.

France will relaunch the "Universal Library" project

In addition to distribution of a reference literary collection free-of-charge on the Internet, largely composed of National Library non-copyrighted digital collections, France, in partnership with UNESCO, will relaunch the "Universal Library" project started in the context of G7 in 1995.

A study commission will study the effects of digitisation on literary publishing and creation

A study commission on "digital books", made up of representatives from the entire book chain and public authorities, will be set up in 1998.

This commission will identify the effects of development of the Internet and digitisation on book and reading policy, will specify the positions of the various partners and will propose ground rules to encourage better cooperation.

Appropriation of information and communications technology tools by the country’s citizens is in itself a cultural objective. To prevent the development of a two-speed information society, the State must encourage public awareness of these new tools for expression and access to the arts and knowledge.

"Espaces Culture Multimedia" or Multimedia Arts Centres will be created throughout the country, to educate the public in information technology, with a cultural flavour.

100 Multimedia Arts Centres will be created in 1998

These local centres will be situated within existing bodies, such as public libraries or media libraries, and also in a wide variety of cultural or sociocultural structures. A call for projects will be launched jointly by the Ministry of Culture and Communications and the Delegation on national and regional development and regional action.

In this way, it will be possible to create or support around a hundred centres in 1998, with a total budget of 10 million French Francs.

Jobs for young people could be created in Multimedia Arts Centres

These Multimedia Arts Centres could rely largely on jobs for young people to lead and train the public in the use of multimedia tools, and also to provide technical support to computer management.

Public libraries represent the most extensive network of cultural institutions in France. More than 6.5 million people are public library members. Internet distribution may make it possible to achieve a cultural re-balancing of the country, along with wider and more equal access to knowledge and the arts.

Libraries in which multimedia documents, both on-line and off-line, gradually supplement collections of printed and audiovisual documents, may thus become one of the major sites for cultural appropriation of information and communications technology by the public. They will rely on specific training programmes which will have to be developed, like those given by France’s national school for further education in information sciences, which prepares future professionals in the use of information technology.

Multimedia equipment levels in public libraries will be improved

Financing, in the form of specific aid from the general decentralisation grant fund, must be given to enable libraries to acquire the equipment required to turn them into ideal sites for Internet access. The same equipment could be used for consultation of electronic-publishing products (CD-Roms).

What is required is to promote both library access to the Internet and Internet access to libraries. With respect to distance access to libraries, numerous added-value services could be envisaged, such as the option of consulting the catalogue of works on-line or accessing communication services.

France’s collective catalogue will be brought on-line in 1998

The expertise required in the field of information and communications technology is inter-disciplinary. Thus, the new professions associated with the development of material, interfaces and information access tools combine artistic training with knowledge obtained from the computing, telecommunications and audiovisual fields.

High-level training in multimedia tools will be extended

High-level training is required, not only to prepare specialists, but also designers, in all forms of new medias and to prepare trainers to organise and pass on this new expertise.

In 1998, further training in multimedia tools is to be proposed in all sectors of artistic and cultural education: plastic arts, television, cinema, digital images, cartoon strips, book and heritage industries.

Training already available and the organisations giving it will be strengthened and developed. Training in multimedia tools will be gradually extended to all art schools. A system for consultation and programme-setting will be set up to speed up development of teaching skills and to guarantee rational use of equipment.

In 1998, the Ministry of Culture and communication will prepare a specific training programme for "development managers in cultural information technology".

In 1998, discussions will be conducted into the setting-up of a research network based on digital audiovisual and multimedia tools

In 1998, the Ministry of Culture and Communication will launch preliminary discussions into the setting-up of a research and design network based on media, in which digital audiovisual tools could be the chief component.

In the immediate term, a technological monitoring network will be set up to provide information on research and technology in the cultural multimedia field, both in France and abroad.

The support given to research and development in multimedia cultural technology will be reinforced

Mastering the multimedia professions is dependent on the digitisation of material and also on mastery of tools to access and process information. The initiatives of the Ministry of Culture and Communication have made it possible to support projects such as automatic indexing of films, translating aid programmes, tools for multimedia scriptwriting or hypertextual reading software packages for scientists. These important initiatives will be further developed in 1998.

A study will be made of the contribution of information technology to education in the use of graphics

Current cultural practices in our society are characterised by a marked division between the written word, on the one hand, predominant in school education and graphics, on the other, which are widely dominant in youth culture. This divide can lead to communication difficulties between social groups or generations in the passing-on of knowledge.

Education in the use of graphics is one of the ways of mending this split, by helping to create a modern graphics culture relying on the aid of information and communications technology tools.

A united system will be set up under the management of Mr. Jean-Claude RISSET to promote research into art, science and technology

Brand new creative possibilities are being opened up using the new media, involving multiple skills at the point where several disciplines converge. On the basis of this, the Ministry of national Education, research and technology and the Ministry of Culture and Communication hope to promote research into the synergy between the worlds of art, science and technology.

A steering committee has been created to implement a united system to study this subject from 1998 onwards, which will be managed by Mr. Jean-Claude RISSET, research director at the CNRS ("Centre national de la recherche scientifique" - France’s national scientific research centre), composer and computerised music research scientist.

Information and communications technology and the rise of the Internet are sometimes presented as a possible threat to cultural identity, leading to homogenisation of behaviour and language. However, even if this risk exists, it is certainly not inevitable. Rapidly changing techniques, the decentralisation of the players involved and the development of information networks can, on the contrary, offer new opportunities for the distribution of cultural products and services and for the expression of the wealth and diversity of different cultures.

The Government intends to adopt a totally positive strategy, based on the conviction that entry into the information society offers new opportunities to reinforce the international presence of France and the French language.

In addition, France will also make sure that the support systems for cultural and linguistic diversity are retained, such as creative assistance and European work quotas in the audiovisual industry.

Mr. Patrick BLOCHE will be responsible for a parliamentary brief on the presence of France and the French language on information networks

The international dimension of French Internet sites must be reinforced

The Internet now represents and ideal tool to help distribute French knowledge and culture. In order to encourage certain categories of French web site (universities, local authorities, etc.) to grasp the essentially worldwide dimension of the Internet, a labelling mechanism and, if applicable, financial incentives are planned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. What is needed, in fact, is to integrate the international dimension of the Internet as far upstream as possible, when the French web sites are first created.

The State must lead the way in terms of multilingualism

Promoting the role of the French language throughout the world presupposes that the public authorities set an example with respect to translations. When translations exist on their web sites, government departments must offer at least two foreign languages,

The required presence of the French language in international organisations must be a reality for the information made available on-line by these organisations

The presence of the French language on-line must be maintained by the international organisations of which we are members and in which French is one of the official languages. France will make determined efforts to obtain French-language distribution of the information made available on-line by these organisations.

Appropriation of information and communications technology tools by the greatest possible numbers of people is dependent on determined promotion of the use of French-language terms

Quebec, which has led the way in terms of determined commitment to the use of the Internet, serves as an example to our country: French-language terms adapt easily to the development of terms specific to the Internet. Especially since information and communications technology tools are becoming an integral part of society, it is important that the terminology on which they are based is accessible, and thus comprehensible, to the public as a whole.

Thus, although they were the subject of scepticism to begin with, terms such as " navigateur " (in place of browser) or " logiciel " (in place of software) are now quite natural. Others, such as, for example, " pare-feu " (firewall), " partagiciel " (shareware), " graticiel " (freeware) or " page d'accueil " (home page), can be promoted.

The DGLF ("Delegation generale a la langue Francaise" - General French language delegation) already offers a glossary of equivalent terms, the use of which must be encouraged. To this end, the general terminology Commission will also draw up regular recommendations for the various government departments.

With the aim of ensuring clarity, the use of certain terms will be made mandatory by the government. Thus, for example, e-mail address references must begin with the term "Mel." (for "messagerie electronique" - electronic mail).

Linguistic resources enabling automatic information processing and electronic production will be developed

Making available automatic linguistic resources is an essential condition to the development of a large number of software packages, applications and interfaces requiring language analysis. The rise of the Internet has emphasised the importance of research and indexing tools, resources of which there are still too few in French-language form.

The DGLF will lend its support to the production and distribution of multilingual resources in which French is one of the languages, in the context of the "Multilingualism and the information society" programme set up by the European Commission. It will back up the actions of the European Association for linguistic resources.

The Ministry of Culture and Communication will implement a specific initiative to clarify user rights for research scientists in certain existing bodies, such as the "Institut national de la langue francaise" (National French Language Institute), the CNRS or the National library.

Simplifying searches for French resources: the " France.fr " site

In the face of the rapid and continuing growth of the Internet, users sometimes have difficulty quickly accessing reference information. The implementation of an Internet site with the address "France.fr", managed by the Government’s information service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, proposing an address with an obvious name, will provide a simple answer to this need. Through various headings such as "Voici la France" (France here), "Tourisme" (Tourism), "Droit" (Law) and "Culture" (Arts), this multilingual site will propose a variety of connections to other reference sites, in partnership with those involved.

The various organisations representing France abroad could also give this single Internet address.

Promoting Internet access to France tourism heritage in 1998

The information distribution role of diplomatic posts and specialised organisations will be reinforced

Diplomatic posts are a precious link to improve information for French players and spread the word of French achievements abroad, in cooperation with specialised organisations such as the "Agence pour la diffusion de l’information technologique" (ADIT - Agency for the distribution of technological information). Information and communications technology offers new tools which can make a major contribution to this type of activity.

A network will be set up at the initiative of the Ministry of foreign affairs, to link up diplomatic posts and the French players involved in areas such as, for example, university cooperation or exchanges between administrative departments. It should make it possible to accelerate the circulation of information and to improve coordination.

The ADIT site will also offer French companies free access to a database on international technology.

In the field of cooperation and development, information and communications technology tools can be used for the benefit of increasing documentary resources, improving technical expertise and creating material. This policy is largely based on a community initiative, given the name "Initiative Diderot", resulting from a convergence of views between players involved in international cooperation in various fields (research, government departments, United Nations Organisation, non-governmental organisations).

The various actions undertaken in 1998 will represent an overall financial commitment of around 25 million French Francs.

Developing shared resource bases for French-speaking countries

The collection and digitisation of scientific, technical and cultural records for southern French-speaking countries is of key importance. The actions undertaken within the framework of French language promotion aim to encourage the networking of documentary resources (such as the FORCIIR ongoing training and documentalist network programme, or the bibliographic database on development, IBISCUS), the development of virtual libraries or the creation of sites devoted to cultural creation in southern countries (such as the site "Afrique en Creation" - The Creation of Africa).

Promoting exchange and communication between French-speaking countries via the Internet

France is supporting several of our partners’ projects aimed at increasing the distribution of French material on the Internet, thus helping to extend the influence of the culture and knowledge of French-speaking countries.

The following can be cited:

The creation of funds for the development of information highways

As an extension of the resolution on the information society adopted at the Cotonou Summit, a fund for the development of information highways was created at the Heads of State Summit in Hanoi, covering all those sectors likely to benefit from the contribution of information and communications technology, with the exception of infrastructures.

The aim of this fund is to encourage concrete projects to be set up in French-speaking countries, to give them an incentive to commit themselves to the information society on the basis of a North/South partnership.

The new information networks offer particularly promising prospects with respect to State reform, whether in terms of improving relationships with the general public and companies or increasing the efficiency of its internal operation.

Information technology thus makes it possible to envisage new ways of making available information which is useful to the general public, in digital form and thus at a reduced cost. They also offer the opportunity to deal with the administrative authorities at a distance, i.e. by means of automatic data procedures, thus avoiding the restrictions imposed by opening times of public services or by geographical distance.

In addition, the use of information and communications technology and new networks within government departments increases efficiency and makes it easier to exchange information.

These changes call for in-depth study on how to modernise working methods and organisation. A voluntarist policy to increase awareness and train government employees is essential if optimum use is to be made of these tools, progress which must be made in cooperation with union organisations.

In this way, the State can be made more transparent and more efficient for its citizens. However, in an environment characterised by accelerated information circulation, the government must, more than ever before, ensure the protection of personal data and privacy.

By making widespread use of information and communications technology, the State, a major player in the economy of the country, must, by its own example, act as a driving force in speeding up France’s entry into the information society.

As the leading producer of information in the country, the State must use communication networks to extend its distribution of public data and to offer new interactive services.

The State must take advantage of the new conditions offered by the development of the Internet to act as a driving force in reinforcing France’s presence on the world net and making it easier for both the general public and companies to access public information.

The information produced by the government represents a major resource to inform our market players and to improve the competitiveness of our economy. An active policy to digitise public data and make it available on-line is thus an issue of prime importance.

In this way, the Government aims to meet the ever-increasing expectations of its citizens, for whom greater administrative transparency is a key democratic issue.

A digitisation plan for each ministry will be drawn up in 1998

By the end of the first half of 1998, in an effort to improve public access to administrative information and the various types of public data, each ministry will draw up a plan for digitising and placing its public information on-line, in cooperation with the "Commission de coordination de la documentation administrative" (CCDA - Commission for the coordination of administrative documentation). To do this, each ministry will prepare a preliminary inventory of the pools of information available and will define the type of information which it would be useful to distribute.

The distribution of unpublished information will be given priority

The ministry digitisation plans will, in cooperation with the French Documentation service, particularly concentrate on "grey-matter" literature, that is reports, studies and public documents which are not available to the public in paper form.

New Internet services will be developed

The advantages of the Internet, which are, largely, its interactivity, its multimedia character and its simplicity of use, must be exploited to enable the development of new general Internet services.

Initiatives have already been started in this area: the web site of the Ministry in charge of facilities, transport and housing, for example, offers information on traffic conditions in the Paris region. The National Employment Agency has been broadcasting all of its vacancies since the Autumn. The Ministry of foreign affairs makes available reference information on our country. The Ministry of the economy, finance and industry offer on-line question-and-answer services on the Internet for all the economic and financial issues in which taxpayers, consumers and companies are interested. The Ministry of Culture and Communication offers virtual exhibitions and access to large-scale arts databases on its web site.

These services must be rapidly developed, with the aim of providing a genuine public service. Thus, before spring 1998, the Ministry of Agriculture is to offer up-to-the-minute information on prices for agricultural products, then, at a later date, its warning service to provide urgent information to farmers.

Developing a clear doctrine with respect to the distribution of public data

The development of networks has led to a profound shift in the traditional distinction between access to public information and its distribution. The development of the Internet is reflected by a further fundamental change in the economic conditions of this distribution.

Beyond essential public data, which the Internet now makes it possible to distribute free-of-charge, there is a considerable variety of data, access to which is one of the essential conditions to the development of industry and the French information market.

An independent person will be appointed to propose to government departments the elements of a clear doctrine on the scope and charging conditions for public data.

Maintaining the confidentiality of personal data and the protection of privacy

When the 1995 community directive relative to personal data was transposed into French law, the Prime Minister assigned Mr. Guy BRAIBANT, Chairman of the higher codification commission, a brief to study and make proposals on any changes required to the legislative framework of 1978, which, in particular, led to the creation of the "Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertes" (National commission on the freedom of access to computerised information).

Mr. BRAIBANT’s conclusions, soon to be released, will help give direction to public choices in this essential area. The government’s increased use of information and communications technology tools, an instrument to provide a better service for its people, must not actually lead to less protection of personal data and privacy.

Thanks to Minitel, France already has a considerable history of using on-line services, of which government services are a large part. This resource is an asset which the State must exploit, by leading the way in moving over from Minitel to the Internet.

Offering these services will act as a major incentive to encourage homes and companies to acquire personal computers fitted with communications tools.

The services currently available on Minitel will remain so long as it is widely used by the general public.

Moving of the States’ Minitel services onto the Internet must be completed within two years

All the public information and government services which are today available on Minitel must also be accessible on the Internet by the end of 1999.

Transferral to the Internet must be accompanied by improved service

Moving the State’s Minitel services onto the Internet must also be seen as an opportunity to study ways to improve the service offered to users, making use of multimedia tools and the ease of use of the Internet.

In 1998, each Ministry will draw up a schedule for moving its services onto the Internet

Before the 1st of June 1998, each ministry will draw up an exhaustive plan for moving its Minitel services, detailing existing services and how often these are consulted by the general public.

Alongside those data produced by the government which could be sold, essential public data must be available on the Internet free-of-charge. In particular, this concerns major legal texts, public administrative information, main public documents and essential cultural data.

Clear, reliable and complete administrative information is a key element in improving the service offered to the public. The aim of the data to be distributed free-of-charge on the Internet is not simply to provide greater information on the various facets of the government’s activities, but, more especially, to provide concrete information on legal rights, initiatives and formalities affecting the country’s citizens.

The opening of government department web sites must be seen as an opportunity for ambitious application of the principle of free access to essential public data, which will lead to new services from 1998 onwards.

In 1998, each ministry will identify the scope of its essential public data

When developing their public data digitisation plan, each ministry will provide a list of their essential data, indicated by field of activity.

LEGIFRANCE, the web site for free distribution of major French legal texts, will open in January 1998

A web site called " LEGIFRANCE " will be opened on the 1st of February 1998, on which will be available, free-of-charge, in addition to the "Journal Officiel de la Republique Francaise" (French Republic Official Journal), the main laws and legislative texts, as well as all the major decisions made by the administrative and judicial authorities.

ADMIFRANCE, the general web site for free administrative public information on the Internet, will open in spring 1998

A general web site for administrative public information will offer, in addition to an exhaustive directory of the public web sites already in place, a platform for questions and a database of information relating to dealings that the public have with government departments.

It will also provide direct access to all those forms included in the list of the "Centre d’enregistrement et de revision des formulaires administratifs" (CERFA - Centre for registration and revision of administrative forms), which will be digitised accordingly.

Finally, it will offer access to the French government catalogue which already exists on paper and on Minitel (Admitel service). The Government’s Secretary General will be responsible for coordinating the various services brought into effect as a part of this project.

At a later date, the remit of "Centres Interministeriels de renseignement administratif" (CIRA - Inter-ministerial Centres for administrative information) could be extended to offer an on-line query service, by electronic mail, and thus a tailor-made information service for users.

Information and communications technology tools do not just make it possible to improve distribution of information to public service users. They also represent opportunities for new types of interactivity, thanks to the development of electronic mail.

Every public administrative service will be given an e-mail address by the year 2000

All administrative services related to users must be gradually given e-mail addresses, to enable them to receive electronic mail from the public and to respond in the same way.

Government departments must be made aware of the importance of electronic mail

The impact of the development of e-mail on work in administrative departments must not be under-estimated. As for any organisation adopting this kind of technology, the efficient processing of electronic mail is dependent on the adaptation of existing procedures. In particular, these procedures must guarantee specific legal rights to protect citizens in their dealings with government departments, such as a demand for reasons or the existence of time to appeal.

An inter-ministerial working party will meet in the first half of 1998, under the auspices of the Directorate General of administration and civil service, to formulate organisational recommendations which will be the subject of a methodological guide issued to all government departments.

The dematerialisation of administrative procedures will make it possible to improve the service offered to users. For companies, the resulting simplifications will help to reduce the costs involved in administrative procedures.

Simplification of administrative formalities is one of the Government’s key concerns.

It is in this spirit that the "Commission pour la Simplification des Formalites" (COSIFORM - Commission for the Simplification of Formalities) developed a set of inter-ministerial guidelines on automatic data procedures in 1997 and that the Government recently decreed a set of administrative simplification measures for SMEs.

Numerous trials on automatic data procedures have already yielded promising results, in particular with respect to social affairs (annual declaration of social security contributions), tax affairs (submission of tax and accounting data) or customs affairs (declaration of inter-community trade of goods). Mention can also be made of the automatic data procedures implemented by the Ministry of the Interior for the acquisition of car registration papers, which concerned 20% of new vehicles in 1997.

The Government has decided to move on from trials to a strategy of gradually extending these applications.

All administrative forms will be available on the Internet by the end of 1998

Digitisation of all administrative forms should be completed, under the aegis of CERFA, by the end of 1998. It will be possible to automatically print these forms on the ADMIFRANCE site, which will be available at the start of spring 1998 and is likely to develop very rapidly.

The first automatic data transmission trials will be set up in 1998

The option to send administrative forms to the authorities by e-mail will be a natural extension of dematerialisation in this area. An initial set of automatic-transmission forms, which respect the open standards of the Internet, will be proposed for declarations involving both private individuals and companies, before the end of 1998. On-line help and explanatory notes will be offered at the same time as the electronic forms.

A list of procedures for priority dematerialisation will be drawn up

On the basis of the recommendations made in the report on electronic commerce which the Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry asked Mr. Francois LORENTZ to prepare, a list of priority procedures will be drawn up for fiscal and social declarations and public trade and an implementation schedule will be published.

Preparing for the gradual extension in the use of automatic data procedures

On the basis of the proposals made as a result of Mr. LORENTZ’s report, before the end of the first half of 1998, each Ministry will prepare a 3-year plan for the development of automatic data procedures specific to its own ministerial department. This plan will indicate a list of priority procedures to be dematerialised and will set a schedule. It must be coherent with the inter-ministerial guidelines on automatic data procedures, in particular with respect to compliance with EDIFACT standards for electronic data interchange (EDI).

Declarations and payments for Social Security contributions will be given priority in this dematerialising process

By the start of 1999 at the latest, companies will have the option of sending in their declarations by electronic mail after processing wages.

In anticipation of this service, from the end of the first half of 1998, the Social Security contributions single declaration service on Minitel, which to date has been operating on a trial basis, will be extended to all employers. To be subsequently linked up with an electronic remittance system, this service will enable companies to dispense with sending mail by conventional means, to complete all of their declarations at one time and to have assistance in calculating their contributions.

The development of electronic transactions and the dematerialisation of procedures poses problems with respect to authentication, security and confidentiality. Similarly, the value as evidence of digitised documents raises various issues.

Thus, if automatic data procedures are to be fully exploited, satisfactory solutions must be found with respect to the authentication, security and confidentiality of transactions. The interactive services offered by government departments will be required to develop in the context of the Internet, which is an open network, a situation which will demand, therefore, the increasing use of electronic signature and cryptology.

Standards for electronic signature must be offered to users in 1998

The Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry will lead an inter-ministerial working party, jointly with the Secretariat General for national defence, which will be responsible for proposing technical and legal conditions for the athentification and validation of electronic signature by the government before the end of 1998. This group will also make proposals relative to the required legislative and regulatory modifications.

The increase in the number of services offered to the public on electronic networks must not lead to a deepening of the divide separating those of our fellow citizens who have personal computer terminals at home from the rest of the population.

Thus, the government will be committed to developing the number of access points to the State’s on-line services in public places, to make sure that the information society is within the grasp of the greatest possible number of people.

1000 post offices will be equipped with Internet access in 1998

At the request of the Secretary of State for Industry, the Post Office will act as an example by providing the public with Internet-access terminals. By the end of 1998, this will involve 1000 post offices, both in rural and urban areas, particularly where social deprivation exists. The jobs for young people created by the Post Office could be used to help provide the public with information on how to use these terminals.

Trials will be conducted in 1998 on public access points to government electronic services

The public reception areas of the main local administrative authorities (sub-prefectures, public service agencies, public libraries, tax offices, local job centres, etc.) will, as of 1998, provide the public with Internet access points, to make it easier for them to consult the information sites offered by the government.

The State will encourage trials on public automatic data services

The electronic "visioguichet" (visio-booth) trials providing distance access to administrative and expert services using a personal computer will be extended. Thus, following trials conducted by the Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry in 1998, initial installations may be made in rural and suburban areas in 1999.

The State will offer its support to local authorities with respect to electronic administrative information for the public

The Government’s information department and "Documentation Francaise" (French Documentation Organisation) will set up an inter-ministerial working party, in partnership with the local authorities, to study ways to provide electronic access to administrative information which are tailored to local requirements. This information is for use by intermediation structures (public offices, associations, etc.), as well as interactive terminals situated in public areas and on the Internet.

Computerisation of government procedures is already underway, both for the main management applications and from the point of view of office equipment used by staff. However, in its role as an example to lead France into the information society, the State is faced with a threefold challenge:

The increasing use of all forms of communication by the government is an issue made all the more important by the fact that it reinforces the State’s capacity to contribute to national and regional development by extending the use of teleworking.

But the government will not be able to propose genuine automatic data procedures unless it adapts its internal working methods, which presupposes close adherence of staff to these changes.

The implementation of public policies by central and decentralised departments of the State, and by the organisations dependent on it, requires exchanges of information to which the traditional compartmentalization of government is not conducive.

Bringing government departments on-line thus means making a commitment to decompartmentalise the State, giving it the tools essential for such exchange, giving staff greater responsibility and also making day-to-day work more efficient.

Electronic mail and the pooling of information thus represent an opportunity to envisage new, more collective, more flexible and more reactive ways of organising work. In particular, skills spread over several sites or several departments could be used in synergy with one another.

In the face of the difficulties involved in inter-connecting existing networks, the progressive extension of use of Internet standards represents an essential requirement and will enable substantial economies to be made.

The Internet must become standard for government departments

When installing new systems or renewing existing information systems, the use of solutions compatible with Internet standards will be mandatory from now onwards.

Openness towards public networks will be given priority

The use of public telecommunications networks must be given priority over specialised networks. Public networks, which are benefiting from rapid developments in technology and falling costs, are in fact a key factor in openness, efficiency and economy.

In an increasingly open context, the State’s information systems must now incorporate new requirements to guarantee their security and the integrity and confidentiality of data exchanged.

The development of intranet-type solutions will be encouraged

Thanks to the use of Internet standards, intranet sites (i.e. internal to government departments) will make it easier to share and access information within a government department. intranet-type trials will be set up in 1998, to demonstrate the system’s potential for shared work and interactivity and to emphasise the key importance of better circulation of information within the department.

Internal electronic mail systems will be commonplace

Each Ministry will finish equipping its departments with electronic mail systems, providing secure access to the Internet before the end of 1998.

Each Ministry will make sure that all its members of staff using a computer in their work will have access to the electronic mail systems and an e-mail address.

The use of electronic mail standards compatible with the Internet will be mandatory

For electronic mail projects still to be implemented, the use of solutions compatible with Internet standards is now mandatory.

Ministerial electronic mail systems will be interconnected in 1998

An inter-ministerial working party led by the Government’s Secretariat General is responsible for ensuring that a secure inter-ministerial electronic mail system is set up before summer 1998, by interconnection of existing electronic mail systems in most ministries, which are currently characterised by their heterogeneity.

This solution is an interim phase, governed by the desire to act rapidly to fill in the most obvious gaps, leading towards the eventual setting-up of a genuine intranet within the State.

A prefiguration study of the future government intranet will be conducted in 1998

Ultimately, all the State’s departments, both central and decentralised, along with all French diplomatic posts, are to be linked by a vast information network, within which employees can not only use the electronic mail system but also access shared multimedia databases or use video-conferencing technology.

The Secretariat of State for Industry is responsible for conducting a prefiguration study into the future public intranet (which will also include Extranet-type elements, to encourage the use of public networks), the results of which are expected before the end of 1998.

To aid the strategy to encourage the use of the Internet by government departments, a brief has been assigned to Mr. Jean-Paul BAQUIAST

Before the end of April 1998, the Ministry of Civil service, State reform and decentralisation will ask Mr. Jean-Paul BAQUIAST, State Inspector and chairman of the Admiroutes association, to compile a report on the contribution of the Internet to modernisation of the State.

An operational part of this report must, in particular, contain method recommendations for departments involved in intranet projects, along with suggestions on how to process electronic mail received from the public.

While the networking of government departments is now imperative, the security of information exchanges (confidentiality and integrity of data, authentication of partners) and the protection of networks against intrusions and sabotage must obviously be guaranteed.

The security of information systems will be the subject of a guide issued to government departments

Before summer 1998, the "Service central de la securite des systemes d’information" (Central Department for the security of information systems) and the Secretariat of State for Industry will develop a guide to make recommendations to government departments on secure use of the Internet and security products (in particular, cryptology).

The State’s employees must be made aware of the issue of security of information systems

In the face of development of the State’s information systems and electronic mail, the risks of sabotage and intrusion are increased. Training of employees in the use of information and communications technology will have to place more emphasis on the reality and extent of these threats and the need for secure use of modern communications tools.

The development of regional information systems will be accelerated

The efforts to bring the State on-line will only make sense if modernisation of central and regional government departments is accompanied by a gradual extension of regional information systems, aimed at improving information exchange between the State’s decentralised departments within a given "departement" or region.

The setting-up of electronic mail systems linking central government and decentralised departments should make it possible to improve the efficiency and coherence of State action at local level, coordinated by the prefect of the "departement" or region.

The use of Internet standards will be mandatory at decentralised level

Regional information systems will be required to comply with the rules set by the government in terms of Internet standards.

France will support trials on electronic information exchange between European governments

France will support initiatives undertaken at European level to set up the IDA programme, relative to trans-European governmental networks. This programme specifically aims to enable development of electronic methods for exchanging information between governments.

The Plan’s General Commission will set up a working party on the State and information and communications technology

To aid deployment of the use of information and communications technology and the new networks within the State, the Plan’s General Commission has been assigned a brief to conduct a prospective study.

In particular, this brief will aim to study the consequences, for both the government and the public, of the State operating as a network, anticipating prospective changes in internal working methods.

The development of teleworking in government departments must be encouraged

A call for projects to develop teleworking in government departments will be launched in the first half of 1998 by the Ministry of Civil Service, State reform and decentralisation, in cooperation with the Ministry of National and regional development and the environment.

To this end, a charter for distance-working in government departments will be developed before the end of the first half of 1998.

The ability to use information and communications technology tools will be included in government recruitment policy

Civil service recruitment policy will be adapted to place more emphasis on tests related to the use of information technology. The Ministry responsible for the civil service will coordinate these changes.

Mandatory training in the use of information and communications technology must be incorporated into the programmes of civil servant training establishments

The teaching programmes of the various establishments for training civil servants will be revised, to provide future civil servants with training in the theory and practice of information and communications technology. In particular, it will be important for future senior civil servants to have mastered the use of personal computers and the Internet.

Ongoing training for all staff will be adapted

From 1998 onwards, each Ministry will develop staff-awareness and training initiatives relative to the use of information and communications technology and the surrounding issues. This theme will be among the priorities of the inter-ministerial initiatives for ongoing training implemented at central and decentralised level.

Specific training for management will be set up

From 1998 onwards, ongoing training courses, particularly aimed at management staff, on issues related to the information society and the Internet in government departments, will be organised. The Ministry of Civil Service, State reform and decentralisation will define the programme and material, in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional and national development and the environment.

The State’s computer systems represent an efficiency tool of growing importance. They must be more receptive to new technology and the information systems of their partners, more adaptable to changes in management methods, more decentralised and more effective at clarifying public decisions.

To modernise its information systems, the State must give priority to the use of open solutions available on the market

The quality and sheer number of software solutions available on the market lead to the recommendation that, as a general rule, the government should abandon development solutions involving specific computer applications which are frequently costly, cumbersome and difficult to up-date. The State must thus give priority to the use of the solutions available on the market wherever possible.

The government must adapt its computers to change to the year 2000 and the Euro

The State must meet the challenges of changing to the year 2000 and the Euro if it is to successfully modernise its computer systems. Its example in this area will be of particular importance.

The senior civil servants responsible for modernisation and decentralisation in each department will ensure that these major challenges are understood.

Computerised monitoring of expenditure will be updated

Before spring 1998, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Service, State reform and decentralisation will publish a guidance document on the ACCORD project relative to the modernisation of computer applications for State budget management.

The new application will start to become operational in the year 2000.

Computerised State personnel management systems will be adapted

Before the end of the first half of 1998, on the basis of the conclusions of the specially created inter-ministerial working party, the Ministry of Civil Service, State reform and decentralisation will publish a strategy for the coordinated adaptation of computerised State personnel management systems. This should make it possible to better monitor personnel movements and management of projected staffing levels, jobs and skills.

Certain fundamental areas of our public services will undergo a period of profound change in coming years as a result of the introduction of information and communications technology. The public health field will be one of the most important examples of this, with the implementation of a social health network in 1998.

The social health network is one of the essential elements involved in the modernisation of the health and social sector. It must provide a global response to the need for exchanges of information, beginning with that related to health insurance, and will unite existing network initiatives.

A complete network of health services, accessible throughout the country, will become operational in 1998

The social health network will link the main players involved in the health sector, at the same cost throughout the country. In particular, it will make it possible to send health forms by automatic data transmission, to consult medical information banks and to circulate drug-monitoring data or health alerts.

This network will be used to back up relationships between outpatient and hospital medicine, in particular for communication between health professionals using, specifically, an electronic mail service. The social health network will thus be one of the tools used to improve the quality of care offered to patients.

The social health network will provide a tool for simplifying administrative procedures

By making it easier for very diverse institutions to work together, the social health network will encourage the simplification of procedures required of the public: looking after an elderly person at home following hospitalisation, sending of medical information, applications for reimbursement of prescriptions, etc.

The social health network is based on partnership between various players

Rapidly encouraging the emergence of communication services adapted to these needs requires the involvement of the State. A public service delegation for the implementation and operation of the network led to a call for tender, as a result of which the operator, Cegetel, was selected.

The social health network will respect Internet standards

The social health network will be both standardised and unifying:

The social health network will incorporate the need to respect a high level of security in an open environment

Particular attention has been paid to the question of security, given the absolute necessity of respecting the principles of medical secrecy, confidentiality of private life and the freedom of the individual. The ideal tools to provide this security are:

The first users of the social health network will be connected in 1998

A growing awareness of companies of the huge opportunities offered by the use of new information and communications technology tools in the management of production lines, the securing of markets, financial management or human relations is essential. This can only come from the companies themselves; it is thus private initiatives which will be the primary driving force for the computerisation of companies.

The State must nevertheless attempt to respond to any hesitation to invest in computer equipment on the part of companies, by means of initiatives to increase awareness and offer support. It can also lead the way by offering an example of ambitious use of information and communications technology to modernise public services, on the basis of the priorities detailed in this action programme.

French SMEs have been particularly slow to start using information technology although these tools are in fact a key factor if they are to remain competitive.

In fact, new technology and new information networks make it easier to monitor technological developments and competitors, encourage the networking of partners with similar centres of interest and provide access to human resources or remote consultancy. These technology tools can also be an efficient way of simplifying administrative procedures.

It is SMEs that can most benefit from the market opportunities represented by the development of electronic commerce on the Internet. Seizing these opportunities often means complete reorganisation of the company, which requires a gradual approach to the use of these types of technology and specific assistance.

As electronic commerce on the Internet is still a largely experimental area, the best way of encouraging SMEs is to highlight the success stories and to promote the sharing of experiences.

The system for increasing awareness and training SMEs will be strengthened

The system for increasing awareness and training SMEs will be strengthened, with the support of national centres of expertise such as AFCEE ("Association Francaise pour le commerce et les echanges electroniques" - French Association of electronic commerce and exchange) and EDIFRANCE (Association of computerised data exchange users) and on the basis of strong regional dynamism. These regional centres will initially be required to improve their own skills with respect to information technology.

The expertise of technical establishments will be exploited

Technical establishments will lend their assistance, by providing training for staff active in the SME environment.

A budget of 50 million French Francs has been set aside in 1998 to help SMEs to join the Internet

In addition to initiatives to increase awareness and provide training, individual or collective projects may be able to receive more direct support, by making use of existing procedures in electronic commerce and using the new system set up by the Secretariat of State and Industry to help SMEs acquire Internet technology. An allocation of 50 million French Francs has been set aside for this initiative in the 1998 budget; with management of the system being largely decentralised to regional industry, research and environment departments.

A guaranteed sum and specific assistance of 20 million French francs will be set up to encourage the development of the presence of French exporters on the Internet

To make companies aware of the specific role of the Internet in exporting, the Junior Minister for external commerce will give a guaranteed sum, which may be supplemented by specific operational assistance for SMEs, for developing the presence of French exporters on the Internet along with the use of the simplest communications methods provided by this tool. This operation will be allocated 20 million French Francs over two years, obtained by redeployment of external trade funds.

Specific help is planned for small companies in rural zones

Within the context of the national and regional development policy, and with the aim of helping small companies in rural zones, training schemes for very small companies in these disadvantaged areas will be undertaken on the initiative of the Ministry for national and regional development and the environment and the Ministry of national Education, research and technology, based on the use of school computer equipment outside of class times.

This initiative has already been started with the support of a budget of 5 million French Francs released for this by the Ministry of national and regional development and the environment as part of the National Fund for national and regional development.

Old and even recent software packages, whether they are operated in computer processing centres or installed in equipment controlled by electronic systems have not generally been designed to go beyond the date of 31/12/1999. In fact, year codes in software packages have generally been limited to the last two digits; moving from 1999 (99) to the year 2000 (00) could therefore lead to major malfunctions in all of the software’s functions.

Some of these software packages have already been identified as a result of recent incidents occurring in the course of their use. Many more could, in the event of malfunction, have serious consequences on our society after 1999.

The governments of the main industrialised countries are taking these threats very seriously: threats which could affect a large percentage of SMEs, which may find themselves unable to issue invoices, print out pay slips or update their accounts after the 1st of January 2000. In certain production processes, microchips could block robots, programmable automatons, sensors or testing equipment. In public services, the management of hospitals, social security systems or some types of transport could be affected by the computer change to the year 2000.

The country has only partially realised the importance of this issue and of the challenges posed by changing computers to the year 2000. France has been notoriously slow with respect to other countries in analysing its domestic situation and in starting the mechanisms to correct its software. Even once the problem has been identified, dealing with it is usually put off due to an under-estimation of the workload involved.

The State is calling those involved to act rapidly in the face of the challenges represented by the incompatibility of a large number of software packages to changing over to the year 2000 and the Euro

The State cannot ignore this kind of situation, as it is responsible for:

The computer consequences of changing to the Euro must be anticipated

As of the 1st of January 1999, our currency will be the Euro, although coins and notes in Euros will only be introduced on the 1st of January 2002. The period between 1999 and 20002 will be used to familiarise ourselves with the Euro. Companies who so desire may keep their accounts in Euros, pay their taxes in Euros, and make tax declarations in Euros from January 1999 onwards. The vast majority of private citizens will, however, only be affected by the changeover to Euro as the 1st of January 2002 begins to draw near.

However, the interim period will see the gradual development of twofold information: on pay slips, on invoices on price labels in shops.

A considerable number of management software packages will have to be adapted or replaced, therefore, to enable both public and private entities to deal with the changeover to the Euro under the best possible conditions.

An initiative to increase awareness and mobilise those affected has been undertaken

Changing computer systems over to the year 2000 and the Euro are computer challenges which are, it is true, very different, but which require concomitant awareness campaigns aimed at the same public.

The government has thus decided to increase awareness and mobilise public and private entities, so that they can quickly take preventive steps against the threats related to changing computer systems to the year 2000 and adapting software to the single currency.

A brief will be assigned concerning the challenge of changing computers to the year 2000 and the Euro

To ensure coordination between the various public initiatives to be undertaken in these areas, the Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry and the Secretary of State for Industry will appoint an individual to head a brief entitled: "Changing computers to the year 2000 and the Euro". At the start of April 1998, he/she will submit proposals on the best ways to identify the nature and location of the risks involved, measures to be taken to safeguard national interests and deal with problems related to the sale of products not compatible with the computer changeover to the year 2000 and the Euro.

Electronic commerce can be summarised as all digital trade, related to commercial activities, between companies, between companies and individuals, or between companies and government departments.

In itself, this is not a new phenomenon, since electronic trade, in particular using electronic data interchange (EDI), has been developing greatly over the last ten years, both between companies and between companies and government departments.

The success of numerous electronic commerce applications on Minitel is already a good measure of the potential represented by electronic commerce.

But the advent of the Internet has had a considerable impact on its prospects. Low costs and ease of use will encourage very rapid expansion of the Internet and its accessibility to small businesses and consumers themselves.

The phenomenon of the development of electronic sales of products and services by companies to consumers currently receives the most media attention. However, inter-company trade will actually represent more than 80% of electronic commerce transactions in the year 2000. In total, it is estimated that electronic commerce could represent a world turnover of 5 to 10 million dollars by the year 2000.

In this new context, electronic commerce will represent a factor which will increase the competitiveness of French companies but which will also require them to reorganise their management methods.

The creation of the proper conditions of trust and a regulatory framework favourable to the development of electronic commerce is a government priority

The government aims to create the proper conditions of trust between companies and consumers with respect to operation of these new markets, to remove obstacles which could result from current laws and practices not being adapted to digital trade, while at the same time continuing to fulfil the tasks expected of it by its citizens, which means making sure that the law is respected, ensuring security and levying taxes.

The brief assigned to Mr. Francis LORENTZ has led to a comprehensive assessment of the issues involved in electronic commerce

The brief assigned to Mr. Francis LORENTZ by the Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry has led to a very comprehensive assessment of the issues involved in electronic commerce and the areas in which public action appears to be required.

The conclusions of Mr. Francis LORENTZ’s report have been submitted for public debate

In the immediate term, a forum has been opened on the Internet to receive the public’s reactions and comments on the report submitted by Mr. Francis LORENTZ to Mr. Dominique STRAUSS-KAHN on the 7th of January 1998.

The results of this public debate will provide input to the proposals for the development of electronic commerce which the Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry will draw up in the course of the first three months of 1998.

The reforms undertaken to promote the development of electronic commerce may concern very diverse areas, among which can be cited:

Contract law will have to incorporate the consequences of dematerialising trade

French law includes clauses which are favourable to the development of electronic trade but also a certain number of restrictions, which will have to be reduced in a dematerialisation context, both with respect to civil, commercial and administrative issues.

Payment systems raise numerous questions which will have to be the subject of debate by the State and those involved

Payment for electronic commerce may take various forms in order to respond to the great diversity of requirements and raises the following problems:

The development of electronic commerce raises new questions with respect to taxation regulations

The main difficulties raised by the development of electronic commerce within the European Union are related to the losses in tax revenues that could be caused by these trading methods, as a result of the practical difficulties of taxing services provided by operators in other countries in the European Union itself.

Thus, for example, the possibility of dematerialising certain goods or providing services from a distance poses a problem with respect to national taxation regulations and may lead to fiscal imbalance (travel agency services or distance-learning services, for example).

The consumer must be offered a constant level of protection

Consumer protection in the field of electronic commerce is reliant on making commercial transactions with private individuals secure. The consumer must be offered the same level of protection, whether he is using electronic commerce or traditional methods.

Among initiatives already underway, should be mentioned the studies conducted by the National Consumers Council into the options for Internet access currently available on the market, with, in particular, a proposed model contract for provision of access and global consideration on the subject of electronic commerce.

With respect to the protection of personal data, the French and European position on this subject is very firm and is marked by differences with the United States which should be resolved in negotiations to be held with the European Union in the course of 1998.

Public services will be major players involved in electronic commerce

As a major player in the economy, the State will intervene in various areas in which the dematerialisation of trade can play a key role, by reducing costs for the economy as a whole or by improving the information given to market players.

This is of particular importance for the State as a producer of services, a manager of procedures affecting company life and a supplier of economic and social information.

By instigating trials, then gradually extending the use of information and communications technology and the Internet in various sectors, the State is encouraging the distribution of electronic commerce methods, either directly or indirectly.

In these different electronic commerce applications, the government will instigate the most suitable measures for this new technological environment.

The development of electronic commerce requires increased international cooperation

Electronic commerce represents an opportunity for the development of international trade, company growth and global economic prosperity. But if these hopes are to become reality, the relevant national and international regulations governing commercial activities must be applied simply and surely to both private individuals and companies.

Insofar as the Internet is a worldwide network, the dematerialisation of numerous trading activities, the increased permeability of national borders and the rapid and unpredictable development of new technology make international cooperation particularly essential.

The fragmented nature of international discussions on electronic commerce is a result of the multiplicity of the sectors involved

Electronic trade has rapidly become a subject of intense, but fragmented, international commercial negotiation within:

The subject is also dealt with in the context of bilateral relations, mainly at EU level (discussions between Europe and the United States, in particular). This fragmentation is directly linked to the complexity of the subject which affects a wide variety of sectors.

The government will ensure that coordination of French positions is increased within these entities.

With respect to international trade, France has three goals

These discussions are of considerable importance to France, which has three goals:

France is committed to active participation in international discussions

Current international debate is, for the most part, exploratory, but it does contribute to formation of a consensus. In this way, a certain number of reference texts have been accepted, such as the Bonn Declaration, endorsed by the ministers of 29 European countries or the joint declaration by the European Union and the United States, ratified at the Transatlantic Summit on the 5th of December.

At European Union level, the Council of Ministers of Industry meeting on the 13th of November 1997 adopted conclusions relative to the Commission paper on electronic commerce, to which France actively contributed.

This work has highlighted the urgent requirement of defining a genuinely European doctrine on electronic commerce.

At France’s request, the theme of electronic commerce has thus been a subject for debate in all those political groupings of the Council concerned, in order to reach a joint European position which could serve as a basis for future discussions in the context of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Several important dates have already been set and the coming months should see an acceleration in internal studies within the European Union but also those conducted in the context of the OECD (with a view to the Ottawa conference) and transatlantic discussions.

In the medium term (1999-2000), the resumption of negotiations relative to services within the WTO will be another opportunity to emphasise the importance of electronic commerce.

Sectorial and technological information, general economic data or business opportunities on foreign markets, opportunities to acquire or take over companies both in France and abroad: the economic and commercial possibilities are so extensive that it is important to make this information available to companies in a simple, efficient and relevant manner.

Information and knowledge are, in fact, key tools and conditions to ensure the competitiveness of French companies.

Mr. Patrick LEFAS has been assigned a brief to study the economic information of companies

In order to study ways in which to make this type of information available to companies - and in particular SMEs - under the best possible conditions, the Ministry of the Economy, finance and industry and the Secretaries of State for External Trade, the Budget, Industry and SMEs and self-employed people have assigned Mr. Patrick LEFAS a brief to analyse this subject and make proposals.

To complete this task, the expertise of the Ministries of Defence and the Interior will be required.

Moreover, systems making it possible to respond to queries submitted by companies as quickly as possible will be developed within the department of external trade.

A search system for economic and technological information has been made available to the general public and companies by ADIT

The "Agence pour la Diffusion de l’Information Technologique" (ADIT - Agency for the Distribution of Information and Technology) has set up a search system on the Internet, particularly directed towards economic and technological information and enabling queries to be made in intelligent language. This tool is available to the general public and, more specifically, companies.

The rate at which information is circulated in an environment like the Internet and information networks in general represents a radically new element in industrial or financial relations and services in a wider sense. This circulation is even more rapid in high-technology sectors.

As a result, the increasingly rapid and ever richer circulation of information on open and worldwide networks represents a considerable advance yet also leads to increased vulnerability, in particular for sensitive technology.

This vulnerability is the result of various threats, from the divulgence to the general public of information which, until now, has been classified (processes to manufacture sophisticated weapons are already circulated on the Internet) to attacks on patent protection.

Traditional defence tasks will be adapted in the face of the development of open information networks

The Ministry of Defence is devoting considerable resources to protecting classified industrial information against the risks of industrial espionage and intrusion related to information and communications technology.

Particular attention will be paid to the consequence of the necessary and growing use of open networks by government departments and companies.

The liberalisation of the regulatory framework relative to cryptology will offer companies the tools to guarantee the confidentiality of their exchanges on open networks.

Increased company awareness of this issue is urgently required

As they are increasingly turning to open networks such as the Internet and distributing and exchanging information using these tools, companies must be made aware of the strategic importance of this information, and the conclusions, with respect to their situation and goals, which could be drawn by careful analysis of said information.

Companies in the information and communication technologies sector, whether fulfilling industrial activities or producing applications, constitute a very important source of employment. They thus offer considerable promise as regards growth and exportation.

It is important that France should benefit from the industrial growth associated with these new applications and not simply become a consumer of information technologies.

Mastering information and communication technologies is of vital strategic importance because tomorrow's wealth and power will be concentrated in the places where these technologies are mastered.

Information and communication technologies, which are factors in the productivity and efficiency of the economy as a whole, form part of the technical infrastructure whose quality determines the global competitiveness of national economies. Factors which depend upon it include in particular the availability of communication networks, administrative efficiency, the management of physical transport and therefore the attractiveness of the country to foreign investors.

Information and communication technologies constitute a vital source of growth and employment. It is estimated that this sector accounts for one third of American growth. It is in this sector that the jobs needed to compensate for those disappearing in certain traditional industrial sectors can be created rapidly.

A study carried out by the European Commission in 1996 revealed that the creation of jobs in the services sector is directly related to investments in new information technologies.

The development of the French supply of information and communication technologies depends first and foremost on the economic players involved, since these new technologies are by nature decentralized as regards both the demand and the supply.

The public authorities must therefore not embark upon obsolete procedural policies or massive state contracts which are totally inappropriate for the development of the new information and communication technologies. On the other hand, the State does have a key role to play in creating an environment that favours the development of this industry by removing the obstacles to its development and orienting company research grants towards a number of high-priority information and communication technologies.

In-depth measures shall be undertaken to favour the creation of companies by encouraging people from research organizations to set up in business.

Examples of companies set up by people from research organizations with the backing of these organizations are still relatively rare. This is largely due to the difficulties in reconciling the status of researcher with that of an entrepreneur and the lack of structures to support the creation of companies (advisory services, logistic support, financing). An in-depth action will be undertaken to change this situation. The government has already authorized the INRIA (National Institute of Research into Information and Automation Technology) to develop a "startup" fund to support innovative projects during their creation phase.

Startup funds shall be created in the technological fields offering the greatest growth and employment potential

Startup funds financed by public research organizations and private investors shall be created around the major State technological centres (research laboratories, universities, schools, etc.). The vast accumulated wealth of state research must not be left "mouldering in the coffers" but serve for industrial innovation, growth and employment.

These startup funds shall be managed by risk capital and company creation specialists, who alone are capable of assessing the financial and commercial prospects of the technological innovations produced by the public laboratories. Moreover, the capital of these startup funds must be essentially private to ensure that the risk associated with the projects financed is borne entirely by the private operators.

Although these startup funds must be allocated to local laboratories in priority, there are also plans to set up national funds for sectors offering the greatest growth and employment potential - and the biotechnologies and information and communication technologies in particular.

Regional-scale action shall be reinforced

Alongside its industrial research funds, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry has decentralized intervention instruments at its disposal in the regional Departments of industry, research and the environment. As of 1998 some of these regional action resources shall be allocated in priority to support the expansion of innovation in the information and communication technology sectors, including services aspects.

The action of the ANVAR shall be pursued

In 1996 the ANVAR (Agence Nationale pour la VAlorisation de la Recherche - National Agency for Research Enhancement) put out a call for proposals to support the technological development of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in the information and communication technology sector: more than 600 statements of intent were received and 260 of these were selected. More than 70 million Francs have already been allocated to 70 project files, and the examination of new files lodged will continue during 1998. In 1996 and 1997 the ANVAR received specific grants totalling 60 million Francs from the Ministry responsible for telecommunications for this call for proposals.

Beyond this call for proposals, the supporting of innovation by SMEs in the information and communication technology sector shall remain one of the ANVAR's priorities.

The SMEs/SMIs (small and medium-sized enterprises and industries) with a high technological content have a particular role to play in the design and deployment of new products and services. They constitute the best vector of the spirit of enterprise and innovation that should enable France's scientific and technological potential to develop into an economic success. This is especially true of the information and communication technologies sector.

The government has embarked on a deep-rooted and lasting policy to favour the emergence of new entrepreneurs capable of creating and developing efficient and financially sound companies in sectors with high levels of innovation. Several measures to help meet this objective took effect on January 1, 1998.

Company founder share subscription notes to encourage innovating enterprises

The 1998 finance law has introduced a measure in favour of innovating enterprises with high growth potential, which usually cannot offer large salaries to attract top-level directors, managers, and scientists. Henceforth, such companies can propose company founder share subscription notes, enabling the staff to capitalize on their personal investment and the growth of the company.

This mechanism enabling company shares to be purchased at a predetermined price is reserved for companies created less than seven years ago, even if they have been created by people backed by former employers. If the shares associated with these subscription notes are sold later on, the net profit shall be subject to common law capital gains tax of 16%, which will be increased to 30% if the beneficiary has worked for the company for less than three years.

Deferral of taxation on profits reinvested in young companies

The 1998 finance law provides for deferral of taxation on the profits made by company founders if they are reinvested in a company that is less than seven years old. The idea - based on the American "business angels" concept - is to encourage people with successful company creations behind them to help less experienced entrepreneurs by providing advice and contributing shareholder's equity.

The action of the SOFARIS will be reinforced and directed towards the creation of innovating companies

Among the actions already initiated one can mention that of the SOFARIS which in 1996 granted almost 3 thousand million Francs to more than 8,000 company creation projects. The action of the SOFARIS will therefore be enhanced and directed insofar as possible towards the creation of innovating enterprises in the 'information and communication technology sector.

Thirty measures have already been taken to simplify company creation formalities

Marylise Lebranchu, the Junior Minister for small and medium-sized enterprises, trade and arts and crafts, has announced over thirty concrete measures to reduce the administrative steps involved in company creation to make the operation simple and fast, and to substantially simplify the formalities associated with the payment of social security contributions.

Any changes necessary for the development of teleworking shall be studied

In 1998 the government will study the possibility of relaxing the conditions for exercising a professional activity at home in order to favour the creation of new activities using modern communication techniques (teleworking in particular).

The orienting of mutual insurance savings towards risk capital must be encouraged

The 1998 finance law has introduced an important measure to encourage the investment of mutual insurance savings capital in risk capital. People with life insurance contracts invested over 50% in shares, of which at least 5% are in risk-capital companies, risk investment funds and innovation investment funds, or directly in unquoted companies or companies quoted in the New Market, shall continue to benefit from the favourable fiscal system for life insurance (earnings from policies held for 8 years or more are completely exempted from tax).

A risk capital fund to be set up in 1998

A large state risk capital fund will be set up. This fund will not substitute for private risk capital operators, but will give them leverage by increasing their intervention capacities.

Local community actions to create innovating enterprises will be facilitated

Local communities often want to facilitate the development of proximity risk capital. Unfortunately current state financing rules are ill-adapted to certain local authority actions, even though these actions are effective. A bill will therefore be submitted to Parliament during 1998 to adapt the rules governing the economic intervention of local communities to facilitate the creation of innovating companies.

A working party will be set up to analyze the export prospects for French information and communication technology companies

The Junior Minister for foreign trade will set up a sector-based strategic watch group to analyze the export market share of French information and communication technology companies and their prospects for development in the face of international competition.

The mechanism for assisting industrial research and development must be improved

The quality of the industrial research and development mechanism is vital to the development of information and communication technologies in France.

Mr Henri Guillaume has been assigned a mission by the Minister of Education, Research and Technology and the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, the conclusions of which should guide the government in the preparation of measures to improve the efficiency of mechanisms of R & D aid to companies.

Industrial research grants shall be used in priority to support the information technology sectors

The Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry and the Minister of Education, Research and Technology will use their industrial research funds within a global and consistent approach to give priority support to the various information technology sectors: components, data processing equipment, new software technologies (logistics engineering, research engines, Internet technologies, security aids, etc.), telecommunications equipment and services and technologies helping to produce, distribute and receive multimedia applications.

The movement of research workers into companies will be facilitated

The Minister of Education, Research and Technology is preparing measures to facilitate the movement of research workers into private companies by adapting the sometimes excessively rigid framework governing the status of state laboratory research scientists.

In view of the extremely rapid development of the telecommunications sector, which is now completely deregulated in France and in most industrialized countries, the authorities are becoming concerned about maintaining the level of French research experience in this field.

The national centres of skills in telecommunications research are coordinated

The government has decided to coordinate the various national centres of telecommunications research within the RNRT, grouping all the players concerned (scientists, manufacturers, operators, etc.).

The RNRT brings together the following centres of telecommunications skills: CNET (Centre national d'etude des telecommunications - National centre of telecommunications studies), INRIA (Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique - National institute of research into information and automation technologies), CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique - National scientific research centre), Schools, Universities, industrial laboratories, operators, etc.

This system has been in operation since January 1, 1998.

The State will be providing substantial long-term financial support

The ministries responsible for research and telecommunications plan devoting 60 million Francs to upstream research programs and 200 million Francs to industrial R & D in 1998. This support will be continued in the years to come.

The State will ensure that telecommunications operators meet their predetermined research commitments

The Ministry of the economy, finance and industry will make sure that France Telecom and the other telecommunications operators meet the research obligations imposed upon them by the regulations.

Television broadcasting in France at present is ensured by cable, satellite and terrestrial radio waves, in analogue mode in the latter case. The digitizing of terrestrial radio broadcasting involves high industrial and economic stakes:

better frequency management and the possibility in the long run of having a large spectrum to implement new services,

renewal of the equipment pool with the adoption of digital reception and the digitizing of broadcasting networks,

the reduction of broadcasting costs in the long term,

the presence of digital receivers in the home, capable of supporting new services (such as broadcasting of the Internet by radio waves).

 

 

Digital terrestrial radio broadcasting offers interesting prospects in terms of town and country planning - especially in sparsely populated areas where cable coverage is not really feasible - as it is a medium that is well suited to local or regional channels.

In the long run, the recovery of part of the frequency spectrum currently used for analogue broadcasting is one of the requirements for the development of new services in the information society, such as the third-generation multimedia mobiles (future "UMTS" (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).

Terrestrial digital radio television trials will start in 1998

The movement for programmed launching of terrestrial digital television is under way in many countries. The United States have thus scheduled a migration plan which should lead to the dying out of analogue broadcasting by 2006. Similar decisions have already been taken in the United Kingdom and Sweden, and are expected in Spain and Poland.

The government intends studying the concrete possibilities offered by the digitizing of the terrestrial radio network, and launching the first technical trials in 1998.

As regards other forms of terrestrial digital audio broadcasting (DAB) of radio or television programmes (MMDS), the ongoing trials shall be continued.

The development of infrastructures supporting the Internet, as well as actively participating in its technical regulation, form a key part of France's effort to make up for lost ground in this domain.

International comparisons show France to be well positioned for prices

In France, the enlarged size of the local zones (in which the local metering rate is applicable) is significantly larger than in the majority of other European countries, enabling internauts to access the Internet at the local rate (each enlarged local zone has at least one point with an access provider).

The average prices per minute for France Telecom's "local flat rate" and "Internet Primaliste" options are among the cheapest in Europe.

Thus, as regards European prices of connections to the Internet, France is well positioned for both the cost of telephone communications and the cost of subscription to the access provider.

Indeed, international comparisons made by Idate and the Department of Post and Telecommunications show that France Telecom's prices for local long-duration calls are lower than those of British Telecom, although they are higher than those of Telia, the main Swedish operator. If one compares the prices of long-duration calls (30 minutes) for example, the normal local tariff per minute in France (0.28 F VAT inclusive) is close to that applicable in Germany (0,275 F VAT inclusive) and substantially lower than in the United Kingdom (0.38 F VAT inclusive).

International comparison of prices applicable to a private individual accessing the Internet via the telephone network (1)

(1) Week-days, mean access time of 30 minutes

Source: Department of Post and Telecommunications

Moreover, the study carried out by DataBank Consulting, IDATE and TNO in September 1997 for the European Commission, shows that the price of subscriptions to Internet access providers in France is one of the lowest in Europe, placing it immediately behind Finland and Sweden.

The Government's policy of approving France Telecom's prices shall focus on the consumer’s interest

Since December 1, 1997, France Telecom has been selling a subscription-free access to the Internet at a price of 0.85 F per minute. This type of flat rate, already proposed by other access providers, is situated in a highly competitive context which will lead to significant price reductions.

In order to allow the development of services by all the telecommunications operators, and notably the new operators and cable operators, the State shall, in its policy of approving France Telecom's prices, ensure that the rules of fair competition are respected. In this context the Government shall place the emphasis on the consumer's interest, particularly as regards the prices of communications and the creation of innovative pricing systems, such as flat rate options for second telephone lines.

Furthermore, the Telecommunications control authority shall examine interconnection prices and the feasibility of modulating them according to the application.

The Internet infrastructure in France

The two lines of development of the Internet infrastructure in France are firstly the increase in the transmission speeds of each component of the network (backbone and local access) and secondly the improvement of the overall connectivity of the network, that is to say increasing the number of interconnection points between network elements to ensure optimum traffic management.

Full deregulation of the telecommunications sector will lead to a significant increase in the supply of means of access to the Internet

France Telecom and Transpac develop their investments to meet the increasing demand for Internet accesses from different segments of the general public and corporate markets. The State shall ensure that the France Telecom group pursues a dynamic service supply policy.

The deregulation of telecommunications, which took effect on January 1, 1998, will enable private operators to develop data transport networks and thus take part in the increase in transmission rate of the Internet infrastructures in France. In this respect, Siris, which already has a data transport network in France, and Cegetel and Telecom Developpement will be the first operators to have an available infrastructure for the Internet which will supplement that of France Telecom.

It is necessary to develop trials of alternative infrastructures

Apart from the increase in the commercial supply on cabled networks, there is a need to develop trials on new infrastructures for local accesses (such as cordless access to the local network), as well as new uses of existing infrastructures, such as the ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) which enables high speed digital signals to be transmitted over the conventional telephone network.

Regulation of the state operator will favour development of the use of the Internet

As regards leased lines, the State shall ensure strict compliance with the France Telecom blueprint contract, which will lead to additional reductions in the prices of leased lines in 1998 over and above those of the past years and that of January 1, 1998. Furthermore, France Telecom must endeavour to reduce leased line installation times, at least for the commonly used data rates.

France Telecom shall also continue developing the Transpac network, using more efficient protocols for the transmission of Internet data. In addition, the France Telecom group will develop global offers adapted to the needs of Internet access providers.

As part of its function of approving the prices of public operators, the State shall take into account the interests of private and corporate consumers by examining the France Telecom group's innovating service supplies in compliance with rules of fair competition.

The possibility of providing new services shall be examined

The Telecommunications regulating authority shall examine the technical, economic and legal possibilities of combining several complementary telecommunications services in the same supply, such as telephone services and data transmission services.

Interconnections with the basic Internet network in France shall be improved

The interconnection of different commercial networks, currently ensured solely by the RENATER (Reseau national de telecommunications pour la technologie, l'enseignement et la recherche - National telecommunications network for technology, teaching and research), must be improved by opening new interconnection points, for which the rules of operation between operators and Internet access providers will have to be clarified.

Mr Jean-Francois Abramatic will be assigned a brief concerning the conditions of the technical development of the Internet in France

Mr Jean-Francois Abramatic, president of the World Wide Web consortium and director of development and industrial relations at the INRIA (National institute for research into information and automation technologies), will be assigned a brief to study the conditions of the technical development of the Internet in France.

This mission will focus in particular on assessing the development of the Internet infrastructures in France and the solutions to face the growth of traffic, as well as the questions raised by the deployment of information systems and Internet standards.

The conclusions of this study are expected in June 1998.

The global infrastructure of the Internet

The implementing of global very high speed networks represents very high stakes

The international negotiations on the interconnection of high speed networks should enable very high speed networks allowing the development of the Internet to be set up at international level, especially for educational, research and advanced technology applications.

France shall back the development of intercontinental links for the Internet

France is taking part in the international negotiations on the development of the network along with all the other countries connected to the Internet, and will endeavour to help reach an agreement as regards the intercontinental links so that they are cofinanced by the various countries on an equitable basis.

Upgrading Renater to very high transmission rates is a priority

The public interest grouping Renater (Reseau national de telecommunications pour la technologie, l'enseignement et la recherche - National telecommunications network for technology, teaching and research), interconnects the French primary, secondary and higher education establishments and public and private research centres.

It is one of the largest Internet networks in the world, and is connected to the other European telecommunications networks for education and research via links over the 34-Mbit/s trans-European network TEN 34. The new architecture of Renater, which improves the regional service, has facilitated network access for a large number of primary and secondary schools.

The upgrading of Renater to accept very high data rates by means of the IP (Internet Protocol) technology in ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a technique for assembling and transmitting signals for high speed telecommunications networks) will be given priority. This upgrade is part of the Renater 2 project which will allow the provision of new services such as videophone, remote access to high-powered computers, rapid medical imagery, and teleteaching.

France will actively participate in the trans-European very high speed link network programme

Furthermore, the Ministry of education, research and technology is actively participating in the setting up and monitoring of the Quantum programme within the fifth European research and development framework programme, with a view to replacing the TNE 34 network by a trans-European network providing connections at 155 Mbit/s.

It is vital to play a more active role in the development of the new Internet standards

Numerous organizations, often relatively informal, revolve around the Internet and address highly diverse questions concerning technical, legal and even ethical aspects. The most important of these are the authorities managing the decentralized processes for defining the Internet's technical standards, such as the IAB (Internet Architecture Board), the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), and the World Wide Web Consortium.

As the existence of open standards is an important requirement of the new technologies market, it is vital for a company to make its technical innovation become a standard as rapidly as possible. Although it is undeniably costly, active participation in the standardization bodies is very important in order to influence choices and foresee developments. In spite of the marked mobilisation of certain players such as the INRIA, the French participation in these bodies remains low.

French companies, public research centres and government departments shall increase their presence in these standardizing bodies, to which the States shall second engineers or researchers specialized in these subjects.

Dynamic management of the Internet domain names is very important for its harmonious development

The management of the names of domains on the Internet, that is to say the plan of addresses proposed to private and corporate users, is a prerequisite for the harmonious development of the Internet.

The existing naming system, which stems from the American model, is experiencing serious difficulties and has witnessed increasing conflicts on an international scale.

It is therefore vital to implement a policy of vigilance, which implies rapidly adopting a united stance at European level.

Effective management of the ".fr" domain is necessary to strengthen France's presence on the Internet

Reinforcing the French presence on the Internet requires effective management of records in the ".fr" domain (root of domain names in France), especially for organisms wishing to stress that they are located in France.

The principle of adopting a naming charter to avoid conflicts must be supported

The management of the ".fr" domain is characterized by a naming charter defining a shared second-level tree structure (such as "asso.fr" for associations or "gouv.fr" for government bodies, with companies being registered directly at ".fr" level). Applying this charter implies a certain degree of verification before recording a domain name (such as demanding proof of a company's registered name, a copy of a declaration from the police headquarters or the publication in the "Journal Officiel" for associations, or proof of registering at the National institute of industrial property for trademarks).

This approach has reduced conflicts, unlike the situation found in other Internet domains such as ".com" (domain name sought after by numerous companies). This guarantee is invaluable at present when the number of French sites is increasing exponentially.

The creation of the AFNIC should improve the French address naming system while preserving its cooperative spirit

The AFNIC (Association francaise pour le nommage Internet en cooperation - French associating regulating Internet address naming), which has just been founded by the INRIA and the Ministries of industry and research, is open to both Internet access providers and subscribers.

The AFNIC should offer quality services at competitive prices with fast delivery times, thanks to the flexibility of this new associative structure and the technical environment of the INRIA. Its costs will come down as of 1998, and the registration procedure should be automated by Spring 1998.

The AFNIC will organize a public debate on the French naming plan this Spring

The participation of users and service providers will improve dialogue between the players, particularly as regards the adaptation of the naming charter.

This charter must be both rigid enough to limit the risks of disputes, and flexible enough not to hinder development of the Internet in France or result in a migration towards non-French domain names.

During the first half of 1998 the AFNIC will organize a broad-based discussion on the foundation principles and on the means of effectively managing this naming chart.

Anticipate the new types of personal address on the Internet

The AFNIC may also extend the past examination of names of domains for private individuals by making recommendations to the public authorities. It is expedient to reflect upon the possibility of having an personal Internet address that is independent of the service provider.

Prepare ongoing negotiations on domain name management

The Office of the Junior Minister for Industry is taking part with the INPI (Institut national de la propriete industrielle - National institute of patent rights) in the ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the International telecommunications union (working party stemming from the final report of the IAHC - Internet Ad-Hoc Committee).

The difficulties posed by domain names reaching saturation point at international level show that the problem cannot be solved by simply introducing a small number of new generic domains, but implies defining new rules and new procedures for assigning Internet domain names.

Naming is forcibly an international issue which requires a united stance within the European Union

The European position regarding the management of domain names must be clearly specified if the interests of the European players are to be taken into account by the authorities responsible for managing generic domain names. The European Commission must establish itself as an active representative in this matter.

The development of a universal multilingual directory of Internet addresses, on which the AFNIC is currently working, could provide an additional tool to facilitate user orientation on the Internet.

France will encourage the creation of European domain names

Harmonization of the rules for managing "national" domain names within the EC, and the creation of a European domain managed by a charter would help underpin the European influence on the management of Internet domain names.

The mechanism for experimenting information highways and services shall undergo a global evaluation in 1998

In 1997, further to the call for proposals concerning experiments on information highways and services, a new inter-ministerial procedure was initiated with the creation of a "permanent information counter" within the Industrial strategy department of the office of the junior minister for industry.

In this context, apart from awarding the "trial of public interest" label, financial support totalling some 250 million Francs has been granted since 1995 to the research and development actions presented by the most innovative projects.

The assessment of the 244 projects awarded this label under the call for proposals will be completed in January 1998. It will serve to inform all the players concerned and to determine the 1998 orientations regarding the procedure for supporting trials, both qualitatively and as regards the amount of the financial support.

The aim is to take into account the latest technological developments - especially those relating to the Internet - and on the basis of experience acquired through previously "labelled" projects, to continue structuring and grouping the supply of new services, assessing their economic viability, performing commercial tests and acquiring expertise in the operational management of new communication networks.

Anticipating the development of new infrastructures and new applications is a condition for French competitiveness in the information society

The complete deregulation of telecommunications is accompanied by increasing interleaving of this sector with the audio-visual sector. Thus, cabled network operators provide telephone services over cable and direct broadcasting satellite operators adapt their network to the provision of high-speed accesses to the Internet. This regulatory and technological change favours the appearance of new players on the scene and the mushrooming of services.

The access network (the part of the network situated between the user's terminal or local network, and the switching centre to which the user is connected) will undergo radical changes because of the necessary evolution towards high transmission speeds, the competition which will increase the diversity of technological solutions, and the user's increasingly asserted demand for mobility.

Technological developments provide new solutions for high-speed access networks:

access by optical fibre, still expensive,

high-speed access over conventional copper pairs using the ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) technology, which enables high-speed digital signals to be transmitted over the conventional telephone network over short distances, thereby avoiding the need to replace the existing lines,

hybrid optical fibre - coaxial cable access, which uses the television cable,

cordless access to the local network, such as the MMDS (Microwave Multichannel Distribution System) technology), which allows dozens of television channels to be broadcast by terrestrial radio waves, or the European DECT standard (Digital European Cordless Telephone), designed to guarantee local mobility,

access by satellite (direct audio-visual broadcasting, telecommunication systems using low earth orbit satellite constellations). One can imagine that these different solutions will coexist in the future with differential development according to local conditions. Other technologies and standards should gradually emerge, such as the use of electric cables as a data transmission medium, or the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), the future cordless telecommunications standard.

 

A call for candidates for cordless access to the local loop will be put out in 1998

Several new technologies will develop in the "local loop" sector (the end part of the communication network which serves each home); the introduction of local loops will favour the lowering of prices and innovation in the Internet access services sector. This is why the public authorities are preparing the necessary change in the conditions regulating the introduction of new local loop technologies. Consequently, a call for candidates for the local radio loop will be put out in the first half of 1998.

The government has ensured the multiplicity of supply for the future satellite communication systems

Today, the future satellite communications systems are developed by European and American players (such as the Globalstar, Iridium, ICO, Skybridge, Teledesic and Celestri projects). These new personal global communications networks will shortly bring about substantial transformations. This is because they will provide access to the telecommunications services, and in certain cases to the high-speed services and global networks, particularly the Internet, for anywhere on Earth. They will thus constitute the spatial segment of the third generation of mobile telecommunications, by ensuring universal coverage of the territory with access costs independent of population densities.

To promote this type of system and support the presence of France and Europe in this telecommunications sector, the State will help set up an environment, especially legal, that will favour their rapid development. France has already taken such steps in cooperation with the industrial players of the sector, during the World radiocommunications conference held in Geneva in November 1997, to guarantee equitable conditions for the various projects and to preserve the multiplicity of the supply.

France shares the approach of the European commission which consists in attributing a central position to information and communication technologies in the fifth research and development framework programme (PCRD). This is one of the three thematic programmes that the Commission proposes implementing in the PCRD, and which is currently being discussed between European partners and the European Parliament, and which should be adopted in 1998 for implementation as of January 1, 1999.

Projects relating to information and communication technologies must be a European priority

France will reassert the priority nature of the section devoted to the information society with the European commission, in order in particular to reinforce the advantages and competitiveness of the European industry in this sector. The aim of this section entitled "developing a user-friendly information society" should be to render tangible the benefits of the information society by ensuring that it meets the needs of private individuals and companies.

Over the last few years it has become clearer that the necessary changes in law and regulation mechanisms to control the development of information technologies must take into account the convergence between the telecommunications and audiovisual sectors.

On December 1, 1997, the European Commission published a green book "on the convergence of the telecommunications, media and information technologies and the implications for their regulation".

Naturally, this convergence must not become a pretext for calling into question the continuation of our cultural policies in the audiovisual sector, such as supporting creative projects and imposing quotas for European works, which form the strength and richness of the cinema and audiovisual sectors in France. But it is nevertheless an irreversible deep-rooted movement, the consequences of which must be fully measured.

The convergence of communication techniques covers several realities. Fundamentally it is a technological convergence: digitization brings together data processing, telecommunication networks, the audiovisual, press and postal sectors. Economically speaking, the idea of convergence corresponds to the bringing together of the audiovisual, press, telecommunications and data processing industries, which already began with the growth of the telematics sector. For users, the convergence manifests itself by both the multimedia and the synergism between "mass media" such as television, and personal media such as the telephone.

Digitization changes information from a technical situation of rarity to a state of abundance. The traditional distinction between information dissemination and interactivity is disappearing. Finally, the combined use of texts, images and sounds in an interactive context through multimedia brings into play often differing legal systems.

Hence, convergence necessarily affects the regulation of the various sectors concerned and speeds up the process of adaptation of law.

The government is studying all the legal questions associated with the multiplication of new services and the convergence, notably in the context of the future law on communication and the development of the French position in the European Commission's green book.

The questions resulting from the growth of the Internet provide a vivid illustration of the consequences of this convergence on regulation.

France already has longstanding experience in the regulation of on-line services. Since 1993 in the telematics sector, the Higher council of telematics and its offshoot, the Anonymous telematics committee, have been making sure that providers of anonymous written or spoken telematic services (Teletel and Audiotel) comply with the professional code of ethics.

These organizations provide interesting regulation examples, by underlining the value of having an operating structure in which there are regular discussions between the players involved.

The specific nature of the Internet makes it impossible to simply transpose existing regulation models

The specific and profoundly innovative nature of the Internet prevents the transposition of the systems established for the audiovisual or telematics sectors: the data flows transiting via the network have no borders and are not managed by a single authority; each entity can at any time and on its own initiative be both a transmitter and receiver of information.

Restrictive regulations based on a system of authorizations combined with obligations regarding the content (as exist for television, for example, due to the rarity of frequencies) would therefore be inappropriate.

Solutions favouring the self-regulation of the system by all the Internet players must therefore be sought for all behaviours that do not fall under the normal action of law and the police services.

The experimental trials envisaged by the players shall be encouraged

The strong behavioural ethics - sometimes called "netiquette" - that are widespread among the users, represent a dimension of the Internet that must be underlined and encouraged.

The reflections undertaken by the various actors (access providers, entities holding service rights, users' associations, etc.) concerning ways of setting up realistic and effective means of self-regulation are of major interest in this respect, and suggestions for experimental trials shall be encouraged by the public authorities.

The Council of State is expected to make proposals in its interim report on the mission entrusted it by the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister has asked the Council of State to analyze the numerous questions of law posed by the Internet in order to cast light upon future choices regarding legislation and regulations, and make concrete proposals regarding regulation of the Internet in the interim report drawn up in Spring 1998.

Actively participate in the emerging international reflections on self-regulation of the Internet

France will play an active role on the international and especially the EC front in the emerging reflections on the mechanisms for classifying the services available on the Internet and the associated means of parental filtration.

The rapid development of new communication systems in the information society will depend on the confidence that users can place in them, and in particular the security introduced by these means of communication.

Yet this development results in the transfer of pre-existing information exchanges from closed networks which generated mutual confidence among on-line users, to networks that are globally open, like the Internet where, because appropriate means are lacking, information can be intercepted, modified, or its validity can be questioned.

Furthermore, the increasing interconnection of internal data processing systems with open networks increases their potential vulnerability.

From the outset, electronic commerce is developing in an international framework. National rules must therefore take this into account to avoid penalizing the players of the national economy and to guarantee them effective means of protection against economic espionage.

Finally and above all, the entry into the information society is characterized by a spectacular growth in the volume of information exchanged over the information networks, and in particular of personal data, the protection of which is an essential democratic issue.

Cryptology thus constitutes one of the keys for instilling confidence in widespread utilization of the Internet, by ensuring the confidentiality, validity, integrity, non-repudiation of exchanged information, and the authentication of communicants.

The use of cryptological means is therefore necessary to help:

protect privacy,

the development of electronic transactions,

ensure information system security.

 

However, the increased use of cryptology can reduce the ability of police and national security forces to fight criminality, organized crime and terrorism, drug trafficking or even the laundering of money. As such, controlling the use of cryptological means represents a national security issue.

The regulatory framework for cryptology must therefore be a realistic and effective compromise. It must enable a balanced approach between the legitimate needs to protect users in their economic and private lives, and maintain the capacity of the security services to preserve State security.

Article 28 of the law of December 29, 1990 concerning the regulation of telecommunications subjected cryptology to a strict system of prior authorization for the supply, export and use of all the confidentiality tools. These provisions formed an obstacle to the development of the protected relations necessary for the expansion of electronic commerce.

The new legislation (article 17 of the telecommunications regulation law of July 26, 1996), intended making it simpler for the final user to have recourse to cryptological means, and for the seller to get onto the market.

This legislation cannot come into effect without being complemented by a series of decrees and orders specifying firstly the modes of application of the systems (liberty, prior declaration and authorization), and secondly the responsibilities of accredited organizations holding the ciphering keys, called "trustworthy third parties" for state-approved cryptology.

The procedure for the adoption of these texts - which had been delayed - was initiated in the summer of 1997. The tests shall be implemented rapidly, as soon as the final agreement of the European Commission has been obtained and they have been examined by the Council of State.

The deregulation of the French regulatory framework concerning cryptology is intended to meet the requirements of the market and the Internet players, and should also encourage the development of a French industrial supply which can base itself on sound existing skills.

Freedom to use electronic signature tools is a priority

There is now total freedom to use cryptological means (electronic signature) to authenticate and guarantee the integrity and non-repudiation of messages. The marketing of electronic signature products shall be subject to a simplified declaration (no waiting period or technical file to be lodged).

The selling and the use of moderate-level cryptology are becoming commonplace

For applications requiring a moderate level of protection, such as electronic commerce with consumers, the use of algorithms with moderate-level keys shall be unrestricted. Their supply is subject to a prior declaration followed by a one-month waiting period, the furnishing of a technical file and registering of the algorithm. The regulation thus enables the use and sale of these algorithms to become commonplace.

The threshold of moderate-level cryptology must remain open-ended

The moderate-level cryptology threshold, set by a simple decree, may be revised as the technology evolves in order to preserve an effective capacity to protect users of applications requiring a moderate level of protection, which will represent the large majority of cryptology applications.

High-level cryptology must be based on an effective regulatory framework

There shall also be no restrictions on the use of cryptological means, whatever their level, on condition that the keys used are managed by a trustworthy third party where state accredited cryptology is concerned.

The setting up of these organizations, whose role is to issue and archive the information ciphering keys, shall make it easier to use high-level cryptological means. The needs for increased confidentiality (strategic exchanges between companies for example) shall thus be covered while at the same time preserving the legal powers of the judiciary, police and security services.

The regulatory framework should encourage the emergence of trustworthy third parties for cryptology

As the new French legislation is based on the use of trustworthy third parties for cryptology, it is vital for a service supply to be rapidly available. This activity, possibly associated with that of the certification authority, must attract private operators, therefore it must generate earnings.

This is why the decrees and orders defining the conditions for exercising this new profession will not impose technical architectures, but will restrict themselves to functional requirements to allow the development of an economically profitable activity.

The State will rapidly implement its own escrow services

Moreover, it is important that the State itself should rapidly implement a trustworthy third party service for cryptology in order to meet its own specific requirements and possibly urgent needs of companies (relations with the Tax Office and public accounting, for example).

A call for proposals for data processing protection products shall be put out in 1998

In view of the weak market situation and the modification of the regulations, it is up to the State to support the development of industrial products for data processing security, as is done in Germany. Consequently, the Industrial strategy department of the office of the Junior Minister for industry will put out a call for proposals in this field in 1998.

The French framework must remain open-ended, and its developments must be subject to increased dialogue. Furthermore, France must become actively involved in the international negotiations relating to cryptology, as information networks such as the Internet have no boundaries.

The French regulatory framework must remain open-ended

The regulatory framework must be reviewed regularly as a function of:

technological changes;

the international and especially European context;

the needs of the economic players and the initial experience feedback from its implementation, especially as regards trustworthy third parties for cryptology.

 

A national debate on cryptology will be organized before the end of 1998

Given the development of professional and personal data exchanges, the stakes represented by cryptology which until now have been discussed in the still limited circle of cryptology users, are gradually showing themselves to be an essential issue.

It is therefore legitimate that an extensive dialogue should be initiated. It should provide the opportunity to assess the implementation of the new French regulatory framework, the progress of international discussions in this domain, and the development of technological solutions.

A wide consultation of all the players concerned (companies, consumer associations, the National committee of data processing and freedom, liberal professions, etc.) should thus be initiated before the end of 1998.

The French approach must fit in with a voluntarist European policy

The French are not alone in their approach; it corresponds to a solution studied by other European countries. It fits in with the approach adopted by the European Commission to set up a European framework for electronic signatures and cryptology.

The Telecommunications Meeting of December 1, 1997 thus adopted the Commissions communication conclusions concerning the digital signature and ciphering which took into account our concerns: encourage the development of electronic commerce while ensuring that the necessary deregulation of cryptological products will not jeopardize national security interests. This communication should rapidly lead to the proposal of a directive concerning electronic signatures.

International agreements on the escrowing of cryptology keys are necessary

It is vital - in the interests of inter-company trade - to rapidly reach an agreement with our main commercial partners regarding the principles and implementation of the ciphering key escrow.

The development of information networks and the growing interconnection of internal corporate and government networks are increasing their potential vulnerability.

Henceforth, management of the main infrastructures and the major exchange networks in our country and at international level is based on increasingly complex and developed information systems.

Thus, alongside the traditional threats to sensitive infrastructures, we are now faced with new potential dangers: the "virtual" attack on financial information systems by computer viruses, or the sabotage of a major computer system, could have even more serious consequences than a "conventional" attack.

These new immaterial threats to the country's major infrastructures must be evaluated

Faced with these new threats - especially immaterial - to large infrastructures and the national information systems, it is essential for the various State bodies concerned to pursue the ongoing adaptation of their means of prevention and response.

An interministerial working party will be set up to examine these new threats and envisage possible adaptations of the tools to preserve national interests

An interministerial working party shall be set up under the auspices of the Secretary-general for national defence to draw up the inventory of these new threats, measure any vulnerable points in the major national infrastructures, and propose appropriate solutions to the Prime Minister before Autumn 1998.

The actions of the State bodies concerned will be based on regular discussions with the economic and financial players

The interministerial working party for the security of major infrastructures shall regularly consult the main players of the economic and financial community to obtain their proposals and heighten their awareness of this issue.

Faced with the development of information networks, the protection of private and corporate users requires increased coordination between the various ministerial departments to fight the different forms of crime specific to new communication networks. The global scale of the network also requires the development of mutual judicial assistance at international level

Maintaining these protective initiatives implies giving suitable training to the public players concerned.

The global dimension of information demands scaled-up international coordination

The international dimension of the Internet brings new security challenges due to the development of new forms of crime (computer hacking, terrorist actions on networks), and the difficulty of apprehending perpetrators based in foreign countries, as has been demonstrated by the recent examples of pedophile and revisionist sites.

Thus, it is becoming necessary to adapt procedures to provide mutual assistance with prevention and repression.

France will actively participate in the ongoing international work concerning the new forms of crime associated with information and communication technologies

France will actively support the ongoing work to better combat these new forms of criminality:

work carried out in the framework of the European Union (protection of minors and human dignity; draft European agreement for mutual judicial assistance),

work of the Council of Europe aiming to develop an international agreement on criminality in cyber-space,

plan of action adopted by the Ministers of the Interior and of Justice of the G7/P8 countries in December 1997, aiming at reinforcing technical capabilities, improving mutual judicial assistance and adapting legislation on information networks to protect citizens.

 

The training of public players responsible for ensuring public protection shall include information and communication technologies

The various institutes training the legal and judicial professions, such as the National colleges for the magistracy, court clerk's, barristers, and the training centres for lawyers and bailiffs, will set up obligatory training in data processing tools and the Internet.

The colleges dependent upon the Ministries of the Interior and of Defence shall adopt a similar approach.

Civil servants will be made aware of the threats to information systems and the ways of preventing them

An interministerial reflection under the responsibility of the Secretary-General for National Defence should enable the setting up of modules to train high-level public authorities in the issues of protection of sensitive networks and the risks of illegal usage of information systems that could undermine public liberty and safety, State security or national defence interests.

Government initiatives to prepare France's entry into the information society must be coordinated at national, European and international levels.

Each ministry shall produce a sectorial breakdown of the government's action programme

Before the end of the first semester of 1998, each ministry shall draw up for publication a summary document from the "information society" files concerning its role in the government's action programme for the information society.

This document will show in particular the way information and communication technologies contribute towards the internal modernization of the ministry and the improvement of its relations with users, citizens and companies.

It shall indicate the corresponding financial commitments.

If necessary, the master plans for the information and telecommunication systems of each ministry shall be updated before the end of 1998 to take these developments into account. Current procedures for validating master plans shall be realigned further to the examination of the principal choices of the ministries and the interministerial coherence to be developed.

The ministerial plans shall more specifically include:

the plan for digitizing public data and putting them on line on the Internet

a schedule for the migration of telematic services onto the Internet

an inventory of the data already available or to be broadcast on the Internet, and which could form the subject of a link from the ADMIFRANCE site

projects for putting services of general interest on the Internet

the schedule for providing virtual administrative forms;

teleprocedure projects, identifying in particular those which could be implemented before the end of 1998

the plan for implementing an internal electronic message service and how it will interconnect with the interministerial message service

existing or planned extensions to the message service between central administrations and decentralized services.

 

 

Specific responsibility shall be assigned in each ministry for the projects to modernize public services that call upon information and communication technologies

The senior civil servants responsible for modernization and decentralization in each ministry shall ensure that the necessary measures are taken to meet the set objectives regarding the contribution of information and communication technologies towards the modernizing of the operation of the State and the improvement of relations with users.

Each ministry shall appoint "information society" representatives

An "information society" representative shall be designated in each ministerial cabinet (see appendix 2).

Furthermore, representatives may be appointed within the various ministries with a brief to coordinate issues which often cut across several domains. The table in the appendix mentioned above already indicates some of these representatives.

An interministerial committee for the information society has been created

An interministerial committee has been created for the information society. This committee will watch over the progress of the actions planned in the government's action programme for the information society.

It shall examine the reactions, questions and suggestions recorded during the public debate organized in the first half of 1998, and, beyond this, ensure that the suggestions made by the information society players are taken into account in the State's actions.

It shall regularly draw the conclusions from the economic, technological, social and cultural developments associated with France's entry into the information society, and will monitor international practices on the theme of the information society.

It shall propose any corrective measures to be made to the government's action programme.

The interministerial committee for the information society shall meet at least twice a year.

Committee secretaryship shall be ensured by the Secretary-general of the government.

The information society representatives shall jointly monitor the implementation of the government's action programme

Implementation of the action programme for the information society and preparation of the interministerial committee meetings for the information society shall be monitored regularly in a coordinated fashion by the information society representatives within each ministerial cabinet.

Reinforced coordination of the action to modernise the public services

Coordinating the State's action is particularly important as regards the contribution of information technologies towards the modernisation of the public services and improving their relations with users.

This need for coordination is applicable equally well to the financing and conducting of interministerial projects as to the networking of the government departments, the defining of common standards or general principles governing the distribution of information and communications between the public services and users, or heightening awareness and training of civil servants in the new technologies.

The services placed at the disposal of the Ministry of civil service, State reform and decentralization are responsible, in liaison with the Secretary-general of the government, for this coordination task, in the framework of the guidelines laid down by the interministerial committee for State reform.

A summary of the State's actions to accompany the entry of France into the information society shall be drawn up in 1998

The Ministry of economy, finance and industry shall draw up a summary document of the State's actions to accompany the entry of France into the information society by the end of the third quarter of 1998. It shall be based on the "information society" summary documents, and in particular the financial part, prepared by each Ministry.

Information technologies represent twofold advantages from town and country planning aspects:

they make possible the development of teleworking,

they enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of the regions.

 

In implementing its action programme for the information society, the government intends ensuring that all regions have equal access to these technologies, paying particular attention to the development of fragile areas.

It is important that each region should be able to rely on these technologies under fair conditions to favour its development projects or enhance its own specific resources.

The action of the Ministry of environmental and town and country planning shall, in the framework of the information society, be directed in priority towards the fragile, isolated, rural or problem-stricken zones. This action will be complementary to that of the sectorial ministries in the domains of culture, health, education and administrative services.

Ensuring local consistency of government actions

Market dynamics and technological innovation are powerful tools in the regional development of information and communication technologies. It is nevertheless important to have a means of observing the deployment of communication networks and services over the entire country, so that any disparities can be detected and corrected.

The DATAR (Delegation a l'amenagement du territoire et a l'action regionale - Delegation for town and country planning and regional actions), assisted by the region Prefects, shall ensure that the projects carried out by the various ministerial departments are consistent with the chosen regional development policies and are effective.

The DATAR will publish a report on the deployment of communication networks and services over the entire country

Each year, the DATAR will draw up a report on the deployment of communication networks and services for the country as a whole.

This report will:

France will actively participate in all the official and informal negotiations and discussions on the information society

International debates on the information society are increasing in various formal and informal groups (uniting professionals or State representatives) without these discussions so far resulting in true negotiations to create a new legal framework. One must nevertheless prepare for such negotiations.

France must have full command of the development of international doctrine in this field: it will therefore play and active part in all negotiations and discussions, whether formal or informal, in liaison with the professional and associative players.

Regular dialogue under the supervision of the Ministry of foreign affairs should enable the programme of international meetings on the information society to be known well in advance

A schedule of international meetings shall be prepared and regularly updated by the Ministry of foreign affairs in collaboration with the other Ministries, the Secretary-general of the interministerial committee for European economic cooperation (SGCI), the professional milieu and the representative associations.

Strengthen the prior coordination of the ministerial departments

The Ministry of foreign affairs, assisted by the SGCI where European meetings are concerned, shall ensure that France is adequately represented at these meetings and will be responsible for prior coordination between the ministerial departments. They will make sure that the initiatives taken in the various negotiation theatres are consistent.

Set up an international watch over the development of the Internet and new information and communication technologies

The Ministry of foreign affairs shall keep a watch over the policies and trials conducted in the other countries and the international organizations through the foreign embassies.

Entry into the information society is a shared concern in Europe

The information society, the economic and technological possibilities resulting from its development, and the implications for the citizens, also provide food for thought for our European partners and the EC authorities.

The work carried out in the various sessions of the European Union Council of Ministers (Economy and Finance, Domestic Market, Culture and Audiovisual, Industry, Telecommunications) demonstrates the cross-border nature of the issue and the importance laid on it at European level.

To answer the Heads of State and Prime Ministers united at the European Council in Brussels, the report on "Europe and the planetary information society" presented by Commissioner Bangemann at the European Council meeting in Corfu (June 1994) constitutes the basis of the Commission's reflection.

This report has been extended by a plan of action for the setting up of the information society in Europe, which more specifically examines issues relating to the deregulation of telecommunications, networks and services, social and cultural aspects and development.

Commissioner Bangemann presented his second plan of action entitled "Europe at the forefront of the planetary information society: evolutive plan of action" at the meeting of the European Council in Dublin in December 1996. This plan gives an assessment of the actions carried out and defines a work programme based on several objectives.

The main objectives set forth in the European plans of action are:

To improve the corporate environment by the effective and coherent deregulation of telecommunications and by applying domestic market principles in the context of the information society,

To invest in the future by taking into account the future development of the information society in forthcoming teaching and research programmes,

To meet the global challenge by encouraging the access of outside countries through the negotiation of new multilateral agreements and increasing cooperation with the Central and Eastern European Countries.

To favour the citizen by giving more consideration to the social aspect.

 

France gave both plans its full support. Indeed, these plans should enable the European Union to coordinate the initiatives taken in the context of the entry into the information society and in particular allow the competitive development of new technologies while at the same time taking into account the implications of this change in domains such as the protection of essential security interests, codes of ethics and the protection of minors, protection of intellectual property rights, promotion of the European industry of information applications.

The EC reflection meets up with that of France precisely because it is a global reflection that takes into account all the dimensions of the information society.

In its green book "Living and working in the information society: the citizens first" and its communications entitled "learning in the information society" in 1996, "cohesion and the information society", "the information society and development", "the social dimension and the labour market in the information society" in 1997, the Commission proposes exploiting the considerable source of growth and employment and cohesion harboured in the setting up of the information society.

The emerging technological and commercial competition justifies us considering all the possibilities of coordinating our efforts in this domain with our partners of the European Union. But EU members do not just have an economic challenge to meet; they must give all the citizens of the Union equal access to the new information technologies.

This joint reflection with our partners at the Councils of Ministers, based on the Commission's communications and in agreement with the European Parliament, will enable the long-term development of a European framework containing our priorities for the information society.

Active participation in the drawing up of the community framework

The overall reflection conducted within the community institutions will, in the medium term, lead to a joint framework - at present in the embryonic stage - and concrete initiatives. France is actively participating in the development of this framework and the instigation of these initiatives.

France shall ensure that the six priority actions are taken into account in the community framework and are based on it.

Henceforth the action programme constitutes the working framework for the government action to help the entry of France into the information society.

The action programme presented to the country represents a political view of the issue, which must be implemented throughout the years to come. This document proposes choices in the form of broad priorities, and intends mixing medium-term prospects with concrete short-term projects.

But the government's action programme for the information society is in no way intended to be set in stone. It is the result of intensive work by the State departments, often inspired by the numerous proposals from the other players in society.

It must now be enriched on the basis of the public debate stimulated by the broad options adopted to make France enter the information society.

The debate could be based in particular on information and communication technologies, starting with the Internet. Moreover, certain particular issues shall be subject to specific discussions between the State and the players concerned.

The action programme for the information society will be available on the Internet

The government's action programme for the information society is accessible on line on the Prime Minister's Internet site, from which it can be downloaded or consulted directly.

A discussion forum will be set up as one of the tools for the public debate on the government's action programme for the information society

A discussion is to be set up under the responsibility of the government's communication service, which will oversee the debates in accordance with the codes of ethics practised on the Internet.

It must be stressed that this is a forum and not an electronic mailbox. Citizens wishing to send their reactions and suggestions to the Prime Minister can do so through the mailboxes accessible at the Prime Minister's site and the government members' sites.

A synthesis of the broad themes debated in the discussion forum will be provided regularly to fuel public reflection on the entry of France into the information society.

A debate on the proposals of the LORENTZ report on electronic commerce

Mr Francis Lorentz's report on electronic commerce is accessible on the Internet site of the Ministry of Economy, finance and industry.

It is subject to public debate and citizens can express their comments or reactions on the Ministry's Internet site.

Discussions in each primary and secondary school in relation with the local community concerning choices regarding information technologies

Each primary and secondary school, shall organize a discussion on networking and equipment choices for the information and communication technologies at the staff or governors’ meetings, before Summer 1998.

A public debate on the French naming plan will be organized by the AFNIC in Spring 1998

This Spring, the AFNIC (Association francaise pour le nommage Internet en cooperation - French association which regulates Internet address naming) will be organizing a broad consultation of all the Internet players concerning the basic principles and the means of managing this address naming charter efficiently.

The charter must be both rigid enough to limit the risks of conflicts, and flexible enough not to hinder the development of the Internet in France or result in the transfer of subscriptions to non-French domain addresses.

A consultation on cryptology in Autumn 1998

The French regulatory framework for cryptology is being established. This constitutes an important step for the development of electronic exchanges in our country. It is a starting point for discussions with all the players concerned.

A broad discussion will thus be organized in Autumn 1998, involving companies, consumer associations, the National committee on data processing and freedom, liberal professions, etc.

This should provide the occasion to assess the implementation of the new French regulatory framework, the progress of international discussions in this domain, and the development of technological solutions.

Public support at the Internet and multimedia fete

Various associations representing users of the Internet have taken the initiative of organizing the "Internet Fete" on March 20 and 21, 1998, along the same lines as the Cinema, Heritage or Music Fetes.

The government supports and encourages this initiative on the part of the Internet players, which will provide a good opportunity to heighten peoples' awareness of the many possibilities offered by information networks and technologies.

Local government representatives, and especially Prefects and Directors of Education, shall be instructed to adopt a favourable attitude towards any local requests, such as for the use of public facilities to organize educational events for the Internet and Multimedia Fete.

The Government information service and the Ministry of culture and communication have been involved in the preparatory meetings for this event, and shall make proposals to the various ministerial departments so that they can take part in it.

The public debate must find local relays to facilitate the heightening of public awareness of the stakes involved with France's entry into the information society

The Delegation for town and country planning and regional action and the Department of local communities shall help animate the regional public debate on the action programme for the information society.

They shall approach the associations representative of the local communities to discuss the aims of such a dialogue and the means of initiating it.

Cabinet

Jean-Noel TRONC, Technical Advisor

Secretary-General of the Government

Serge LASVIGNES, Director

Government Information Service

Bernard CANDIARD, Director

Cabinet

Geraldine MUHLMANN, Official Representative

Department of service administration and modernization

Marie-Caroline BONNET-GALZY, Assistant Director of Finance, Logistics and Information Processing

Department of personnel and the budget

Maryse CHODORGE, Assistant Director of Information Systems and Telecommunications

Cabinet

Francoise MONARD, Advisor

Cabinet

Michel DEBACQ, Technical Advisor

Department of civil cases and of the seal

Sylvie CECCALDI, Head Clerk

Department of criminal cases and pardons

Remy HEITZ, Head Clerk

Service of European and international cases

Florence SCHMIDT-PARISET

Cabinet

Marc COURAUD, Technical Advisor

Department of technology

Clara DANON, Assistant Director of information and communication educational technologies

Cabinet

Marc COURAUD, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Philippe BARRET, Advisor

Cabinet

Manuel LUCBERT, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Yves CHARPENTIER, Technical Advisor

Department of scientific and technical cooperation

Alain LE GOURRIEREC, Director

Department of European cooperation

Pierre VIMONT, Director

Department of economic and financial affairs

Dominique PERREAU, Director

French-speaking affairs section

Etienne WERMESTER, Official Representative

Cabinet

Daniel VASSEUR, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Jean-Christophe DEBERRE, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Stephane BOUJNAH, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Francois BELORGEY, Technical Advisor

Department of Foreign Economic Relations

Jean-Francois STOLL, Head of service for promoting foreign exchanges

Cabinet

Michel LE CLAINCHE, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Luc MATRAY, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Jean-Luc LE GALL, Technical Advisor

Department of industrial strategy

Jean-Luc ARCHAMBAULT, Director of the communication and service industries section

Department of post and telecommunications

Jean-Pierre DARDAYROL, Head of the telecommunications section

Cabinet

Pierre BAYLE, Advisor

Cabinet

Jacques BONNET, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Jean LA TERRASSE, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Jean-Pierre GUILLAUMAT-TAILLIET, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Bruno FARENIAUX, Technical Advisor

Department of tourism

Philippe WADE, Advisor in new technologies

Cabinet

Alain GIFFARD, Technical Advisor

Legal and technical department for information and communication

Francis BRUN-BUISSON, Head of department

Cabinet

Jean-Luc GARNIER, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Vincent JACOB, Technical Advisor

Delegation for town and country planning and regional action

Anita ROZENHOLC, Official Representative.

Cabinet

Bernard RULLIER, Assistant Director

Cabinet

Jean-Paul FORCEVILLE, Technical Advisor

Cabinet

Manuel COLOMBAT, Official Representative