INFO FRANCEINFO. Algorithmic video surveillance, tested during the Olympics, will be generalized by the Barnier government

The Ministry of the Interior has so far assured that the experiment will not go beyond the period of the Olympic Games, even if the text of the law already provided for an extension until March 31, 2025.

Algorithmic video surveillance, based on the use of “smart” cameras which alone identify risky situations, tested during the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, will be generalized by the government of Michel Barnier, according to information from franceinfo Wednesday October 2 .

This Tuesday afternoon, in his general policy declaration, Prime Minister Michel Barnier said he wanted, when discussing security issues, a “generalization of the method experimented during the Olympic Games”. According to information from franceinfo, this involves developing the use of algorithmic video surveillance.

This algorithmic video surveillance was tested in France as part of the JOP law adopted in April 2023, during the Games but also for concerts (Dépêche Mode, Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift) and even for Roland-Garros. It consists of software associated with surveillance cameras to identify events deemed suspicious or at risk, before alerting an operator in real time. During the Olympic Games, the Paris police headquarters spoke of 185 fixed cameras mobilized in the Paris region as part of this system during the Olympics.

Until now, the Ministry of the Interior assured that the experiment would not go beyond the period of the Olympic Games, even if in fact, the text of the law already provided for an extension until March 31, 2025 However, the idea now under study is to bring this use into the law permanently. A generalization which Laurent Nunez, the Paris police prefect, is particularly in favor of.

According to the authorities, the results of this experiment are positive, even if the system needs to be improved on the detection of weapons, the outbreak of fire or the detection of abandoned objects. The algorithmic camera evaluation committee must submit a report by the end of the year. Associations defending freedoms, for their part, fear widespread surveillance despite the red line hitherto set by the government: the use of facial recognition.