France’s ‘Service Public’ online information portal changes web address
Update provides additional authenticity to help fight fraud
Previous bookmarks and links will automatically redirect to new pages
TippaPatt / Shutterstock
A small but noticeable change to France’s online public service network took place last night, as the web addresses for the ‘Service Public’ website and associated pages changed.
The change saw all web pages linked to the site changing from service-public.fr to https://www.service-public.gouv.fr was made to provide increased security and standardise official government website URLs across departments.
The change applies to the main home page as well as the more than 4,000 help articles and links hosted through the website, which includes online forms and services to advice and legal overviews.
Implementation of the new URL led to services being unavailable for a limited time overnight, but as of 08:00 the website is functioning.
Users can log into the site using FranceConnect or by setting up a log in.
This is not required, however if using official links such as to formsor other government website it can be beneficial to already be logged into your FranceConnect account as it can help you access other official sites more easily.
It comes amid general modernisation to the website, which has existed for 25 years.
Many of its help pages are available with an English translation (often automatically translated using software).
Any former links using an old URL will automatically redirect to the new, updated page, meaning old bookmarks and links - including those shared in Connexion articles - to Service Public pages are unaffected.
Why the change?
The new URL was chosen as it helps standardise website addresses across the official French government network.
Several other official sites use a '.gouv.fr' ending to show their authenticity, such as impots.gouv.fr and mesdroitssociaux.gouv.fr.
By adding this to the Service public URL, it shows the website is not only official but used extensively as part of the government’s digital space.
It also helps to protect against fraudsters using fake websites posing as an official Service Public link – if a link claims to send a person to the Service Public site but the final URL does not have a ‘.gouv.fr’ URL ending, it is not official.
