Minister of the Interior (french: Ministre de l'Intérieur; ) is a prominent position in the

Government of France The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

. The position is equivalent to the interior minister in other countries, like the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, the Minister of Public Safety in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, or similar to a combination of the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Responsibilities

The Minister of the Interior is responsible for the following: * The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes ** including the major law-enforcement forces *** the National Police *** the National Gendarmerie for its police operations since 2009; as a part of the French Armed Forces, the Gendarmerie is administratively under the purview of the Ministry of Armed Forces ** General directorate for civil defence and crisis management ( Sécurité Civile) *** the directorate of

Firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions als ...

s ( Sapeurs-Pompiers) * the granting of identity documents (

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

s, identity cards) and driving licenses through the network of prefectures and subprefectures * relations between the central government and local governments * logistics and organisation of political

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, at the national and prefectoral levels; the results of the elections are overseen by the Constitutional Council or the administrative courts * regulation of immigration and preventing illegal immigration * integration of legal immigrants (professionally, linguistically, housing) * all regional and departmental prefects and

subprefect A subprefect is a high government official in several countries, such as Brazil and France. In Brazil, a subprefect (''subprefeito'') is the highest official of a subprefecture, which is a subdivision of certain large municipalities (São Paulo ...

s are subordinate to the Minister of the Interior The Minister of the Interior also takes on the role of the former Minister of Worship and is formally consulted in the process of appointment of Catholic diocesan bishops ( Briand-Ceretti Agreement). The Minister of Worship used to be a fully-fledged position; the office was abolished in 1912. While the Ministry of the Interior supervises police forces, it does not supervise criminal enquiries. Those enquiries are conducted under the supervision of the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

History

The Minister for the Maison du Roi under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

is considered to be the precursor of the position of Minister of the Interior, which was officially established on 7 August 1790, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, when François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest became the inaugural officeholder. Although his tasks included the organisation of elections, relations with local authorities, agriculture, as well as trade, the Minister of the Interior's main duty was to oversee the functioning of police forces. This has been the case since then, with the exception of the period from 1796 to 1818, when a Ministry of Police was in use, which was also briefly restored under the Second Empire. Hôtel Beauvau, bureau du ministre (2)

During the

First Empire First Empire may refer to: *First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 *First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes use ...

, the Interior Ministry's tasks were reduced; in 1824, the Ministry of Public Instruction was established to oversee France's education policy. In 1832, the Interior Ministry was primarily occupied with the holding of elections and maintenance of the firefighters force, as the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institut ...

and national public libraries were transferred to the Public Instruction Ministry. In 1836, the Ministry of Public Works, Agriculture and Commerce was established. In 1911, the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration, established in 1858 in the Interior Ministry to oversee

prison conditions The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treat ...

, was placed under the authority of the Minister of Justice. Nine years later, the Interior Ministry lost its public health policy department to the newly established Ministry of Hygiene, Assistance and Social Security.

Location

The ministry's headquarters have been located on

Place Beauvau Place Beauvau (English: Beauvau Square) is a public square in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, at the intersection of the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Avenue de Marigny, Rue des Saussaies and Rue de Miromesnil. It is located in the La Madelein ...

, facing the Élysée Palace, since 1861. "Place Beauvau" is often used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the ministry.

Organisation

The Minister of the Interior has been Gérald Darmanin since 6 July 2020. He succeeded Christophe Castaner, who was appointed to the office on 16 October 2018. Darmanin is assisted by Marlène Schiappa, who holds the junior title of Minister for Citizenship in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minister Of The Interior (France) Interior

Responsibilities

History

Location

Organisation

See also

External links