French may have to buy compulsory biometric ID cards

[Eugen Leitl]

http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/04/12/HNfrenchbiometriccards_1.html

 French may have to buy compulsory biometric ID cards
Plan for compulsary ID card could go into effect in 2007

By Peter Sayer, IDG News Service
April 12, 2005

PARIS -- French citizens will have to pay for new identity cards that hold
their biometric information in electronic format -- and carrying the cards
will become compulsory, if the minister of the interior gets his way.

Last month, the government outlined its plan to replace the identity cards
and passports offered to French citizens with new ones that carry a microchip
containing digitized photographs and fingerprints. The plan is to introduce
the passports in 2006, and the identity cards a year later.

Owning a national identity card ceased to be compulsory in 1955, but Minister
of the Interior Dominique de Villepin wants to force the French to carry the
cards again -- and this time, he wants to charge for them, he told the
newspaper France Soir in an interview published Tuesday.

Evoking threats including organized crime, illegal immigration, identity
theft and, inevitably, terrorism, De Villepin said the secure electronic
national identity card is necessary to defend France's frontiers and
citizens, according to the newspaper.

"For the system to be truly effective in terms of security, the identity card
should become compulsory within a relatively short period of time, about five
years," he said, according to the report. De Villepin's office confirmed his
remarks.

Although French citizens must prove their identity to police or
administration officials on request, they don't need a national identity card
to do this today: they can present another official document such as a
driving license or a passport (even expired), or call witnesses.

Since 1998, France has made no charge for national identity cards, while
passports cost .60 ($78).

Issuing the electronic documents will cost .205 million a year, about .25
million more than the existing paper ones, De Villepin said, adding that he
intends to pass on the increase in cost to citizens.

"The price of the passport will be increased a little. And there'll be a fee
for the identity card: that's the price of security," De Villepin said.

The card proposed by the French government will contain several kinds of
information, isolated into distinct blocks. One contains the information
printed on the card, including name, date of birth, address, signature, photo
and fingerprints, in an encrypted form accessible only to authorized
officials. Another block will authenticate the card as genuine but contain no
further information.

The new identity card will also hold a digital signature for signing official
documents such as tax declarations or private correspondence, and even a
private storage space in which cardholders can store other information of
their own choosing.

There will be two ways to access the data on the card: Police and other
authorities will be issued contactless card readers. The card, the size of a
credit card, will slot into a reader attached to a PC or other terminal for
applications such as electronic signature of documents.

Future versions of the card may also contain digitized iris prints, De
Villepin told the newspaper.

France's European neighbors have implemented a patchwork of laws on the
subject of electronic identity.

The Germans already pay for their compulsory paper identity cards, and there
are plans to introduce an electronic version carrying fingerprint
information. Belgium is in the process of issuing a compulsory electronic
identity card to all citizens over the age of 12. The Belgian cards cost
around .10 but contain no biometric information.

Finland issues electronic identity cards containing only the holder's name
and some 1024-bit encryption keys in electronic format. The cards cost .40
and are valid for just three years because, authorities say, there's no way
of telling whether 1024-bit encryption will be strong enough to withstand
attacks over longer periods, as computer power is always increasing. The
cards are also printed with a photo and other information, and are valid for
travel to certain countries.

The U.K. has no national ID card. The government tried to create one, but
failed to pass the necessary legislation before the end of the parliamentary
session. It may reintroduce the bill if it wins the country's general
election on May 5.

--
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