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2007 Assessment

France: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

France: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Political Financing
Indicators		Score
20	Are there regulations governing political financing?	86
21	Are the regulations governing political financing effective?	71
22	Can citizens access records related to political financing?	58

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there regulations governing political financing?

20a: In law, there are regulations governing private contributions to political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Electoral Code, Title I, Chapter V bis, [ LINK ];

Law 88-227 of March 11, 1988, [ LINK ]

20b: In law, there are limits on individual donations to candidates and political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: individual contributions to one or several political financing associations or financial officer of a political party cannot exceed EUR 7500 annually (article 11-4 of Law 88-227).

References: Electoral Code, Title I, Chapter V bis, [ LINK ];

Law 88-227 of March 11, 1988, [ LINK ]

20c: In law, there are limits on corporate donations to candidates and political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: Corporate donations are prohibited.

References: Electoral Code, Title I, Chapter V bis and article L 308-1, [ LINK ];

Law 88-227 of March 11, 1988, [ LINK ]

20d: In law, there are limits on total political party expenditures.

Score:

YES

Comments: Total political party expenditure is not limited. Campaign expenditures are limited.

References: Electoral Code, Title 1, Chapter V bis, [ LINK ]

20e: In law, there are requirements for disclosure of donations to political candidates and parties.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are any requirements mandating the disclosure of financial contributions to political parties or candidates. NO: A NO score is earned if there are no requirements mandating the disclosure of contributions to political parties or candidates, existing regulations do not require a donor\'s name or amount given, or the regulations allow for anonymous donations.$

Comments:

References: Electoral Code, Title I, Chapter V bis, [ LINK ];

Law 88-227 of March 11, 1988, [ LINK ];

Law 62-1292 of Nov. 6, 1962, [ LINK ]

20f: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the finances of political parties and candidates.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law 88-227 of March 11, 1988, [ LINK ];

Electoral Code, Title I, Chapter V bis, [ LINK ]

20g: In law, there is an agency or entity that monitors the political financing process.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: It is the National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing (CNCCFP) created by the Law 90-55 of Jan. 15, 1990 [ LINK ];

Web-site of the commission: [ LINK ]

Are the regulations governing political financing effective?

21a: In practice, the limits on individual donations to candidates and political parties are effective in regulating an individual's ability to financially support a candidate or political party.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Service Central de Prévention de la Corruption, Chapter IV, Le financement de la vie politique en Europe, approche comparative, in Rapport 2005, La documentation française;

Dmitri Georges Lavroff, Le Droit Constitutionnel de la Vème République, 1999, Dalloz

21b: In practice, the limits on corporate donations to candidates and political parties are effective in regulating a company's ability to financially support a candidate or political party.

Score:

100

Comments: Corporate donations are prohibited. However, numerous cases of illegal political financing by corporate persons show that the prohibition has been frequently bypassed and there is no evidence of improvement.

References: Service Central de Prévention de la Corruption, Chapter IV, Le financement de la vie politique en Europe, approche comparative, in Rapport 2005, La documentation française;

Dmitri Georges Lavroff, Le Droit Constitutionnel de la Vème République, 1999, Dalloz

21c: In practice, the limits on total party expenditures are effective in regulating a political party's ability to fund campaigns or politically-related activities.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Service Central de Prévention de la Corruption, Chapter IV, Le financement de la vie politique en Europe, approche comparative, in Rapport 2005, La documentation française;

Dmitri Georges Lavroff, Le Droit Constitutionnel de la Vème République, 1999, Dalloz

21d: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring political financing independently initiates investigations.

Score:

100

Comments: The National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing can refer cases to the relevant authorities (public prosecution, electoral judge, judicial police), thereby initiating investigations.

References: Commission Nationale des Comptes de Campagne et des Financements Politiques: Le rôle de la commission - Campagnes électorales, [ LINK ];

Le rôle de la commission - Partis politiques, [ LINK ]

21e: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring political financing imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Service Central de Prévention de la Corruption, Chapter IV, Le financement de la vie politique en Europe, approche comparative, in Rapport 2005, La documentation française;

Commission Nationale des Comptes de Campagne et des Financements Politiques, Neuvième Rapport d'Activité 2005-2006, [ LINK ];

Le rôle de la commission - Campagnes électorales, [ LINK ];

Le rôle de la commission - Partis politiques, [ LINK ]

21f: In practice, contributions to political parties and candidates are audited.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Journal Officiel, Publication générale des comptes des partis et groupements politiques au titre de l'exercice 2005, Jan. 25, 2007, [ LINK ]

Can citizens access records related to political financing?

22a: In practice, political parties and candidates disclose data relating to financial support and expenditures within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

References: Journal Officiel, Publication générale des comptes des partis et groupements politiques au titre de l'exercice 2005, Jan. 25, 2007, [ LINK ];

Commission Nationale des Comptes de Campagne et des Financements Politiques, Neuvième Rapport d'Activité 2005-2006, [ LINK ]

22b: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties and candidates within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The law provides for yearly communication of the audited financial books of the parties to the relevant authority. Communication takes place during the first semester of the following year. The accounts are then published. The accounts of 2003 were published in the Journal Officiel in September 2005, those of 2004 in June 2006, and those of 2005 in January 2007. Presidential election campaign accounts are published about three months after the election took place.

References: Journal Officiel, Publication générale des comptes des partis et groupements politiques au titre de l'exercice 2005, Jan. 25, 2007, [ LINK ];

Commission Nationale des Comptes de Campagne et des Financements Politiques, Neuvième Rapport d'Activité 2005-2006, [ LINK ]

22c: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties and candidates at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Records, sometimes only available in a summarized form, are available online or in the Journal Officiel, which can be accessed for free in city halls.

References: Journal Officiel, Publication générale des comptes des partis et groupements politiques au titre de l'exercice 2005, Jan. 25, 2007, [ LINK ];

Commission Nationale des Comptes de Campagne et des Financements Politiques, Neuvième Rapport d'Activité 2005-2006, [ LINK ]