France

At a glance

Regulator / body: The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL, the data-protection authority) is expected to be central; the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) and the Directorate-General for Enterprise (DGE) would coordinate, with support from the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) and its response team CERT-FR. Parliament (the Sénat and the Assemblée nationale) is considering the legislation.
Status: France has not yet designated its AI Act authorities: the implementing bill (known as DDADUE) is still before Parliament, so the framework remains proposed.
Effective dates: DDADUE digital chapter adopted by the Sénat 2026-02-18; Assemblée nationale text no. 2518 deposited 2026-02-20; Assemblée nationale vote not yet located. No in-force French AI-specific instrument identified.
Last updated: Oct 10, 2026

Recent developments and what to watch

2026-10-10:No new binding French AI instrument was found since 2026-10-07 (search-limited), and the Assemblée nationale vote on DDADUE no. 2518has still not been located.
2026-09-15:Private bill no. 3149on ethical and secure AI was tabled.
2026-08-24:The CNIL took part in the Uber automated-decision fineled by the Dutch authority.

The Commission's referral of France to the Court of Justice of the EU (2026-07-08) concerns NIS 2 transposition, not the AI Act.What to watch:the Assemblée nationale dossier for DDADUE no. 2518 and any ordinance.

Key instruments

DDADUE bill(adaptation of French law to EU law; digital chapter). Adopted by the Sénat on 2026-02-18 and deposited at the Assemblée nationale as no. 2518 on 2026-02-20. It would spread AI Act supervision across about fifteen sectoral authorities, with the CNIL central for prohibited practices, Annex III high-risk systems and as notified body, and the DGCCRF and DGE coordinating with ANSSI support. The Sénat also authorised completing the adaptation by ordinance. The summary lane report records fines of up to EUR 35 million or 7% from the bill text.
Proposition de loi no. 3149(tabled 2026-09-15 by a member of La France insoumise). It would create an AI authority (ANIA), prior authorisation and a ban on affective AI. A 7% fine figure comes from press only and is unverified against the bill text.
Proposition de loi on a presumption of use of cultural content by AI providers(adopted by the Sénat 2026-04-08; Assemblée nationale no. 497).
CNIL 2026 work programme(2026-04-07). Prepares for AI Act market-surveillance designation and includes guidance on AI at work and in health.

Scope: who and what is covered

If adopted, DDADUE would give France a distributed supervision model across existing sectoral regulators rather than a single new AI agency. Until it passes, the EU AI Act applies directly as an EU regulation, but the national enforcement architecture is incomplete.

Compliance and enforcement

Businesses operating in France should follow the EU AI Act directly and monitor which authority is designated for their sector. Data-protection enforcement against automated decision-making is already active: the CNIL cooperated in the Dutch Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens fine of EUR 824.99 million on Uberfor automated individual decisions (2026-08-24).

Caveats.The Assemblée nationale status of the DDADUE after about 2026-09-04 needs confirmation, and the Légifrance database was not consulted directly. The 7% figure for the private bill rests on press only. A website claiming a “loi IA France 2026” was rejected as unreliable. Research assistance, not legal advice.

References and further sources

Sources and further reading(prepared from the Spanglett Legal AI governance wiki and the October 2026 research run):

Primary source:https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/17/textes/l17b2518_projet-loi

This page is research assistance, not legal advice. Verify against the primary sources before relying on it.

On this page

Research assistance, not legal advice. Verify against primary sources before reliance.

Compare all jurisdictions →