The means of filing complaints continue to expand: it will now be possible to file a complaint via videoconference without necessarily having to go to the gendarmerie for certain offenses. In a decree published on February 23 in the official journal, the government announced the gradual opening of the use of video complaints throughout the country. Until now, this system was only open on an experimental basis in Yvelines and Sarthe. The generalization of this service will take place gradually over the course of 2024, and should be effective for all citizens from this fall.
New complaint method
For users, the main prerequisite is to have a France Connect authenticator and a computer, tablet or phone equipped with a webcam type device. Access to the video complaint service is available from the Ministry of the Interior website in the “My Security” tab or on the My Security application offered by the Ministry of the Interior. By connecting to the service, the Internet user will be able to make an appointment with an agent who will take their statement via the videoconferencing service offered by the application or the site. A summary of the minutes will subsequently be sent to him, which he can consult and sign electronically.
The decree provides that this means of filing a complaint is accessible to any victim of a criminal offense. The Ministry of the Interior specifies that the police officers receiving the complaint may be required to summon the complainant to the police station if the nature or seriousness of the facts justifies it, particularly in cases relating to sexual assault. In addition, the use of video complaints is necessarily optional and citizens can always file a complaint at a police station or with a gendarmerie unit.
In addition to the video complaint system, Emmanuel Macron took advantage of a trip to Gironde to announce that online complaint filing systems will be generalized throughout France from next summer, as reported by Le Monde. This system is currently being tested in Gironde since December: unlike the video complaint, this system will be reserved only for cases of damage to property, only when the complaint is filed against 3.5 million deposited each year will be eligible for this system.
Online complaint filing tools have multiplied in recent years. The Ministry of the Interior had thus begun to offer an online pre-complaint service since 2013. But this system did not allow the filing of a complaint to be completely paperless and still required a visit to the gendarmerie or a police station to finalize the filing. . In 2020, the State opened the first completely dematerialized complaint procedures through the Thesee platform, reserved for complaints for cases of online scams or hacking.