A concept defined in Article 410-1 of the French Criminal Code, the fundamental interests of the Nation “are understood to mean (…) its independence, the integrity of its territory, its security, the republican form of its institutions, the means of its defence and diplomacy, the safeguarding of its population both in France and abroad, the balance of its natural environment, and the essential elements of its scientific and economic potential and its cultural heritage.”

The legislator has drawn on this definition to frame the activities of the intelligence services: the law thus makes the use of intelligence-gathering techniques conditional on the defence or promotion of the fundamental interests of the Nation, which are exhaustively listed in Article L. 811-3 of the French Internal Security Code. The fundamental interests of the Nation that may justify the implementation of intelligence-gathering techniques are:

National independence, territorial integrity and national defence;
The major interests of foreign policy, the execution of France’s European and international commitments and the prevention of any form of foreign interference;
The economic, industrial and scientific interests of the France;
The prevention of terrorism;
The prevention of damage to the republican form of the institutions, the prevention of actions aimed at maintaining or rebuilding dissolved groups and the prevention of collective violence likely to seriously harm public peace;
The prevention of organised crime and delinquency;
The prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Activity report