The announcement was made to a few journalists, the day after the Arras attack which cost the life of a French teacher. The president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region wants to experiment with facial recognition near the community’s high schools. A project carried out for a long time by Renaud Muselier, and already rejected in the past by the courts. 20 minutes make the point.
What is this project?
The Paca region wishes to carry out an experiment in two high schools with facial recognition using a biometric camera system. “Badges can be stolen and connection books are not necessarily easy to control,” argues Véronique Borré, vice-president of the region in charge of security. The idea is to provide a more secure solution. We had carried out the project of an experiment in the past, and we are ready to be able to test this system, to then take stock after six months or a year and see how it was perceived by the students and teachers, whether this had an impact on the fluidity around the establishment… To then be able to equip all the high schools, for an amount estimated between one million and 1.5 million euros. »
At the end of 2018, the region, chaired by Renaud Muselier (LR), had voted on the principle of this experiment, with the American IT group Cisco, to equip the Ampère high school in Marseille and Les Eucalyptus in Nice with “access control devices virtual “. These cameras were supposed to recognize high school students to allow them access, and to be able to follow the trajectory of people, before seeing this project canceled by the courts. “For four years, technologies and solutions have evolved,” adds Véronique Borré, who does not exclude the use of other systems and other companies than those previously considered.
“Anything that can go in the direction of greater security, we are OK,” says Franck Allisio, leader of the RN in the regional council, the only opposition group to Renaud Muselier. Afterwards, you have to see the terms. Who watches these videos? How long are they kept? How is the control carried out? The devil is in the details and you have to check them. »
Why has this project already been canceled?
The first body to put a stop to the project in 2018 was the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (Cnil). The experiment was deemed illegal on the grounds that the principle of proportionality was not respected. “In the presence of less intrusive alternative means, such as badge control, the use of a facial recognition device to control access to a high school appears disproportionate,” estimated the institution. In February 2020, the administrative court in turn opposed the implementation of such a project. Seized by rights defense associations who judged this project to be an attack on individual freedoms, the judges of the administrative court considered that the region had not shown the “public interest” of its system, which only replaces traditional control by badge. On the other hand, the students find themselves “in a relationship of authority” with regard to the school and cannot therefore give “free and informed” consent to the collection of their personal data, according to the judgment.
“The best guarantee of security is to develop support for students throughout the year to allow young people to feel part of the school, and not subject to entry controls and to return as if in a penitentiary,” judged the judges.
“But what is different today is that, after the Arras attack, the government is seeking to use technology more to ensure security around schools,” Véronique Borré believes. We assumed that the threat had escalated. And between the attack on freedom compared to the gain in security, the results of facial recognition seem positive to us. Also, Renaud Muselier is hopeful of changing the situation. A law is also in force to test new devices within the framework of the Olympic Games. Psychologically too, we have evolved on this subject. Today, we use facial recognition to unlock our phone and it doesn’t shock anyone. President Renaud Muselier therefore wrote last week to the CNIL, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of the Interior. »
What does the government say about it?
When contacted, Gérald Darmanin’s entourage informed 20 Minutes Marseille that they had not received such a letter. Neither Gabriel Attal’s entourage nor the CNIL responded to our requests at the time of writing. The president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Laurent Wauquiez also called the day after the Arras attack for the experimentation of facial recognition around high schools in his region. Questioned by Léa Salamé this Monday on this subject, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne speaking to France Inter recalled that “all of this refers to legislative provisions”.