Overview
- France’s top audit body says prevention and detection efforts since 2013 are fragmented and fall short of effectively curbing corruption.
- The Cour des comptes recommends consolidating the Agence française anticorruption’s leadership, outlining scenarios that include a merger with HATVP, independent‑authority status, or an interministerial committee.
- The finding follows the government’s new 2025–2029 plan that creates an interministerial committee coordinated by the AFA after nearly three years without an official strategy.
- Enforcement remains weak despite rising detection: police logged 934 probity offenses in 2024 (+8.2% year over year) and activity rose 51% since 2016, yet 53% of cases are not prosecuted and first‑instance delays can reach about six years.
- The report highlights gaps in the public sector’s preventive measures versus large private firms under Sapin 2, calls for stronger whistleblower protections and clearer NGO accreditation, and notes geographic concentrations in overseas territories, Corsica, PACA, Occitanie, and Paris; the Justice Ministry points to rising convictions in 2024 as a response.