New official app aims to make French admin easier
Several services available via one login
Completing administrative tasks in France from a mobile phone is set to get easier as the government looks to launch a new inter-connected app covering several activities such as taxes and vehicle registration.
The Application Mobile Interministérielle – also known as AMI, presumably a pun on the French word for ‘friend’ – is currently being trialled and is set to launch in October.
It will be able to host actions from several different ministries, without a user needing to log into separate accounts.
Single login for services
Users will be able to connect through their FranceConnect login.
Unlike the France Identité service which is only available to French citizens with a modern ID card, FranceConnect can be used by any resident.
This can include from the French tax website, La Poste, or specific identification apps.
Indeed, the focus of the app is not to offer new administrative services but instead to compile many that are already available (including the government’s Service Public help website) creating a sole point of access.
What services will be offered?
The AMI app will take the current functionalities of FranceConnect a step further.
Tasks set to be possible in the app include:
Completing spring tax returns
Updating or demanding vehicle registration documents (certificat d’immatriculation, often called the carte grise)
Organising proxy voting for elections
Informing relevant authorities of an address change
Once logging into the app, the user will be met with a multi-panel menu (similar to the FranceConnect website) to choose the associated task or ministry/service it relates to.
Information between the various portals will be shared, and after information is given the app will remember it allowing relevant forms to be pre-filled.
This includes between different ministries and services compiled in the app.
In addition to allowing users to complete these services online, the app will offer users an option to receive push notifications about their progress, coming up on their phone without them needing to log in to their account.
Finally, a chatbot will be used to help answer questions about several of the services offered.
Security implementations
France is not the first to offer such a service, around 20 European countries already have a similar app.
For those worried about security, much of the information contained in the app will be stored locally, on devices rather than digitally via the app itself.
This reduces the risk of sensitive information being stolen in the event of a data breach or cyberattack, both of which have become increasingly common in France in recent months.
Current services testing the app include Cybermalveillance.gouv, the government’s cyber security group, as well as the Gendarmes and Police ‘Ma Sécurité’ app.
There are concerns that this new round of digitisation will further isolate elderly residents - likely to be among those to face issues with online tasks - as well as households without stable internet access.
A professional version is set to be launched in 2027 for businesses and self-employed individuals.
