Decision on whether to retain the network is yet to be made, however civil

Decision on whether to retain the network is yet to be made, however civil
rights groups have raised concerns about privacy

A special law was passed to install the surveillance system for the
Paris Olympics

The surveillance system put in place for the Olympic and Paralympic
Games this summer in Paris is still in place and in use, with a
decision on whether to continue doing so due in the New Year.

Around 185 video cameras overlooking public spaces were linked in a
network for the Olympics, and the images were surveyed constantly by an
artificial intelligence-based software programme.

This sent alerts to a control room when it detected something out of
the ordinary, such as a sudden rush of people, or a bag left in the
street.

The system is reported to have worked much better than expected, and
allowed police on the ground to be informed of incidents quickly.

The only problem was in its detection of weapons, with several false
alerts.

Sources say the senior police officer in Paris, Préfet de Police
Laurent Nunez, is strongly in favour of retaining the system.

Read more: [1]French supermarket trials tills with cameras to detect
thefts

Personal freedom concern

For years France has lagged behind other countries in its use of
surveillance cameras. The regulator Commission Nationale de
l’Information et des Libertés (CNIL) opposed their use on the grounds
that they were too great a risk to citizens’ personal freedom.

France has far fewer public video cameras as a result, and strict rules
when they are in place – for example businesses can use them for safety
and to stop shoplifting, but the cameras must be placed so they do not
cover the street.

Similarly, camera doorbells must be positioned so they do not record
the street, or public areas of blocks of flats.

Read more: [2]Home security cameras: what are the rules in France?

The strict policy has caused anomalies – CNIL warns people not to have
dash cams in their cars because filming people in the street or in
their cars without their knowledge is illegal, but police, gendarmes
and the courts use dash cam recordings as strong evidence of what
happened in motoring or other disputes.

Surveillance system's successful trial

A special law had to be passed for the Olympic Games network to be put
in place.

Lawmakers expected that it would be used as a trial for a
longer-lasting system, and put a limit of March 31, 2025 for a new law
to be passed or for the network to be dismantled.

The French prime minister’s office told France Info that a report on
the performance of the surveillance network was being prepared and
should be ready by the end of December.

A decision on whether the network should remain in place will be taken
after the report has been considered.

Civil liberty groups are opposed to the system, which they fear will
open the door to facial recognition software being allowed in France.

This would let police feed into the system a photograph of an escaped
prisoner, for example, with alerts going out if the system spotted
someone the computers thought looked like them.

AI to crack down on undeclared swimming pools

The use of artificial intelligence is being extended by France’s tax
authorities who have used AI trained software to analyse satellite
photographs to track undeclared swimming pools in France for the past
two years.

In 2023, 140,000 pool owners received letters from the tax authorities
inviting them to put their pool tax declarations in order, with an
estimated €40 million in taxe foncière collected as a result.

Now the system is being extended to look for undeclared extensions to
properties such as new garages, garden sheds and conservatories.

Read more: [3]French property tax fraud: what is targeted other than
'secret’ swimming pools?

Experts warn that identifying such extensions from satellite
photographs is much more difficult than spotting a swimming pool, and
expect that as the system comes into use, the number of wrong
identifications will rise.

Artificial intelligence is also being used to analyse data in the new
gérer mes biens immobiliers (‘Manage my properties’ – a section of the
French government’s tax website where property owners can declare what
their property is used for) and used in building declarations which
came into force last year.

The aim is to identify second homes and to check that taxe d'habitation
is being paid for them. It is also being used to check for empty living
accommodation in communes, mainly large towns and tourist areas, where
there is a tax on such properties.

References

1. https://www.connexionfrance.com/news/french-supermarket-trials-tills-with-cameras-to-detect-thefts/675660
2. https://www.connexionfrance.com/practical/home-security-cameras-what-are-the-rules-in-france/635684
3. https://www.connexionfrance.com/news/french-property-tax-fraud-what-is-targeted-other-than-secret-swimming-pools/665732