Corruption in France describes the prevention and occurrence of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. France has ratified several important international anti-corruption conventions such as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In general, investors do not consider corruption a problem for doing business in France, and companies operating in France generally have a good reputation for

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

. The French National Assembly have passed two bills for combating

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

. However, in recent years there have been several corruption scandals involving high-ranking public officials. Public works and the defence industry are considered the most affected by corruption.

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...

's 2024

Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...

scored France at 67 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, France ranked 25th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 64 and the lowest score was 41. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).

Extent and perceptions

In 2011, Transparency International concluded in its annual report 2011 that France does not do enough to stop corruption. A TNS Sofres poll in October 2011 indicated that 72% of the French public had the perception that politicians are corrupt. In France, in 2009 all major foreign investors and exporters and more than 80 per cent of surveyed executives admitted to 'not being familiar at all' with one of the most important legal frameworks in global business. A cartel constitutes a crime punishable by imprisonment and/or fines. Staff and budgets for public enforcement of securities regulation was one third in France compared to the UK in 2008.Global Corruption Report 2009
, Corruption and the Private Sector,

August 2009

Areas

Elections

Political corruption studies include the presidential campaign 2007 finance investigation in the value of €150,000 from

Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was a board member and one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

. The maximum individual support is €4,600.

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

was accused of using public funds for his election campaign in Paris in the 1990s.Korruptio mädättää Ranskaa HS 7.11.2011 B4 On 15 December 2011, Chirac was found guilty and given a suspended sentence of two years. He was convicted of diverting public funds, abuse of trust and illegal conflict of interest. The suspended sentence meant he did not have to go to prison and took account of his age, health, and status as a former head of state."Jacques Chirac found guilty of corruption"
''Guardian'', 15 December 2011. He did not attend his trial since medical doctors deemed that his neurological problems damaged his memory.

Bribery

Bribery investigations spanning from Africa to France are ongoing, including allegations involving Jacques Chirac, Dominique de Villepin, and Jean-Marie Le Pen, who were allegedly linked to bribery claims made by former Gabonese President Omar Bongo. In September 2011, Bernard Granié was tried for accepting a €300,000 bribe from Provence Recyclage.

Energy sector

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

has been under investigation in

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

for allegedly making improper payments of US$200 million for contracts for Brazil's Itá hydroelectric plant, for São Paulo's subway expansion and for other major works in Venezuela, Singapore and Indonesia. The Mexican government has penalised Alstom and in 2007 the European Commission's antitrust authority fined Alstom €65 million for price fixing with competitors.

Anti-corruption activities

In 2021, former president

was convicted of corruption in two separate trials.

Notes

References

{{Europe topic , Corruption in

External links

France Corruption Profile
from the Business Anti-Corruption Portal

Politics of France

Crime in France Law of France Economy of France Government of France Society of France