Overview

• The Justice Ministry says the measure would be tightly limited to murders, rapes, and kidnappings and would require a judge's authorization, with use confined to DNA matches in certain foreign databases.
• France has so far used genetic genealogy without a domestic legal framework, including a 2022 arrest of Bruno L. with FBI assistance that was described as a first in the country.
• Gérald Darmanin said about 30 investigations handled by the Nanterre cold-case unit could advance if the technique is permitted.
• Officials cited more than 50,000 unmatched DNA traces in the national FNAEG database as a key reason to formalize access to the method.
• Cold-case magistrates and the Nanterre prosecutor welcomed legal clarity, while lawyer Didier Seban called it an advance but warned against conditions that would render the tool unusable.