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Public Service Whistleblower: What are the rules?

Verified 22 September 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

A whistleblower is an official (official or contract) who reports or discloses, without direct financial consideration and in good faith, the facts constituting an infringement.

The alert may include:

  • on facts constituting a offense or a crime or on facts which may be described as conflict of interest,
  • acts constituting a threat to or prejudice to the general interest,
  • breach or attempt to conceal a breach of European law, law or regulation,
  • breach or attempt to conceal a breach of an international undertaking ratified or approved by France or of an act of an international organization undertaken on the basis of such an undertaking.

The whistleblower must have known the facts in the performance of his duties, or where the information has not been obtained in the course of professional activities, the whistleblower shall have had personal knowledge of it.

The whistleblower may be an active agent or a former public agent where the information was obtained in the course of the professional activity.

The whistleblower may be a person who has applied for a job in the administration, where the information has been obtained in connection with that application.

Please note

Facts, information or documents covered by national defense secrecy, medical secrecy, the secrecy of judicial proceedings, the secrecy of judicial investigations or investigations and the professional secrecy of lawyers may not be reported or disclosed.

A public official who recounts or testifies to facts concerning a conflict of interest situation in bad faith, with the intention of harming or having knowledge, even partially, of the inaccuracy of the facts, may be imprisoned for five years and €45,000 of fine.

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Crime and delict

The whistleblower may report the facts constituting a crime or a crime in accordance with the internal procedure for the collection and processing of reports put in place by his administration.

Where there is no internal procedure for the collection and processing of reports, he may report the facts to a hierarchical superior, directly or indirectly, to his employer (territorial authority, head of hospital establishment, etc.) or to a alert referent designated by his employer.

The whistleblower may also send an alert after having made an internal alert to his administration or directly to one of the following authorities:

  • Competent authority (administrative authority, independent public authority, independent administrative authority, professional body, specialized body responsible for collecting and processing alerts)
  • Defender of rights, who directs him to the authority or authorities most competent to deal with his report
  • Public Prosecutor

Where an external authority receives an alert and considers that it does not fall within its competence or that it also concerns other authorities, it shall forward it to the competent authority or to the Defender of Rights.

Government administrations must establish an internal procedure for collecting and processing alerts.

Other public employers employing at least 50 employees, too.

However, municipalities with less than 10 000 inhabitants and their public establishments and EPCI: titleContent which do not include any municipality of more than 10 000 inhabitants are not obliged to establish such a procedure.

Conflict of interest

The whistleblower may report to one of the hierarchical authorities to which he reports facts which may be characterized as a conflict of interest.

He may also give evidence of these facts to the ethics referent.

Other facts

The whistleblower may report the following in accordance with the internal procedure for the collection and processing of reports established by his administration:

  • Threat or damage to the public interest
  • Violation or attempt to conceal a violation of European law, law or regulation
  • Violation or attempt to conceal a violation of an international undertaking ratified or approved by France or an act of an international organization undertaken on the basis of such an undertaking

Where there is no internal procedure for the collection and processing of reports, he may report the facts to a hierarchical superior, directly or indirectly, to his employer (territorial authority, head of hospital establishment, etc.) or to a alert referent designated by his employer.

The whistleblower may also send an alert after having made an internal alert to his administration or directly to one of the following authorities:

  • Competent authority (administrative authority, independent public authority, independent administrative authority, professional body, specialized body responsible for collecting and processing alerts)
  • Defender of rights, who directs him to the authority or authorities most competent to deal with his report
  • Public Prosecutor
  • European Union institution or body competent to collect information on breaches of European law

Government administrations must establish an internal procedure for collecting and processing alerts.

Other public employers employing at least 50 employees, too.

However, municipalities with less than 10 000 inhabitants and their public establishments and EPCI: titleContent which do not include any municipality of more than 10 000 inhabitants are not obliged to establish such a procedure.

Please note

Municipalities and their public establishments may entrust the management center of which they are members with the collection and processing of internal alerts, whatever the number of their agents.

The whistleblower shall not be subject to any discriminatory or disciplinary action because of his report, or threats or attempts to use such action.

The whistleblower shall not be subject to retaliation, threats or attempts to retaliate, in the following forms:

  • Damage, including reputational damage, especially on social media, or financial losses, including loss of business and income
  • Early termination or cancelation of a contract for goods or services
  • Cancelation of a license or permit
  • Abusive referral for psychiatric or medical treatment

The whistleblower who has reported or publicly disclosed information shall not be liable for civil and criminal damages caused by his report if he had reasonable grounds to believe, when he did so, that the report was necessary to safeguard the interests involved.