CoE anti-corruption body blames France too slow in action

France was singled out by the Council of Europe's (CoE) anti-corruption body here on Friday for its lack of progress in implementing previously agreed recommendations.

In a report on the prevention of corruption of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, the CoE body -- the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) -- said France had implemented just two of 11 recommendations made by the CoE in 2013.

A parliamentary bill aimed at reinforcing anti-corruption measures is due to go before the French National Assembly on June 6. Originally promised in January 2015, the bill provides for the creation of a national agency for the detection and prevention of corruption, as well as a legal protection for whistle-blowers.

However, French NGO Anticor has already expressed doubts the law is fully up to the task of fighting corruption.

Founded in 2002, Anticor deplored the "ineffectiveness of the justice system which comes from the lack of independence of the prosecution and the lack of human and financial resources devoted to the fight against international corruption."

In more diplomatic terms, the GRECO body also cited concerns over the inertia of the French justice system. "With respect to parliamentarians, further progress is expected with regard to transparency and the monitoring of the use of the parliamentary reserve facility, as well as the declaration of gifts and benefits, in particular at the level of the National Assembly," the group stated.

The parliamentary reserve covers state subsidies used to finance associations and communities in parliamentary constituencies.

GRECO also called on the French parliament to make public declarations of members of parliament (MPs) assets more easily accessible. However, no new measures have so far been taken in this direction.

In the fight against corruption, France is regularly singled out from Western democracies.

The "business" of corruption is a regular feature in French media. Many informed observers denounce the investigative weakness and slowness of anti-corruption procedures, but also a lack of political will to take this particular bull by the horns, compounded by the weight of long-standing practices, such as bribes, to which French authorities previously turned a blind eye.

With respect to judges and prosecutors, GRECO "regrets the lack of action taken in response to its recommendations, in particular with regard to the concentration of disciplinary powers in respect of judges and prosecutors in the hands of the Judicial Service Commission, the method for appointing prosecutors, and the criteria for awarding honorary decorations and distinctions."

GRECO, which is made up of the 47 members of the CoE, plus the United States, aims to help states to identify deficiencies in national anti-corruption policies, prompting the necessary legislative, institutional, and practical reforms. Endit