‘Social Credit’ Fears Raised After Digital Identity App Announced Days After Macron’s Election

A machine checks a woman's vaccine pass, at a restaurant in Lille northern France, on Jan. 24, 2022. Michel Spingler/AP Photo

France’s government has announced the creation of a new digital identity app for citizens to access both public and private services, coming just days after President Emmanuel Macron’s reelection.

The biometric app, known as the “Digital Identity Guarantee Service,” was signed in a decree issued by Prime Minister Jean Castex and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, according to a translated statement published on the French government’s website. It will allow French citizens to have a digital ID card, which is also in compliance with the European Union’s European Digital Identity package.