French government votes to deploy national smart IDs
22 July, 2011
category: Biometrics, Government
The French National Assembly has voted on an identity protection law and plans to implement a smart identity card program to combat the growing problem with identity theft.
The French Interior Ministry claims that there are 80,000 cases of identity theft in France annually. To lower the risk of identity theft, the government plans to move from driver’s licenses and national ID cards to an eID smart card.
Jean-Noel Georges, global director smart cards practice at Frost & Sullivan says in a press release that the smart card will contain two chips, one of which will contain personal data with biometric information, and another chip for optional e-services.
One of the challenges the French government faces in implementing this program is collecting, storing and managing citizens’ biometric and personal information. Another issue is the deployment of card readers, the lack of which could hinder the effort.