The European Commission's 2026 Rule of Law Report on France, published on 22 July 2026, assesses progress on judicial independence, anti-corruption, media freedom, and institutional checks, noting mixed implementation of prior recommendations.
The report highlights that perceived judicial independence among the public rose to 56% (from 51% in 2025), but companies remained at 53%. The High Council for the Judiciary adopted an Ethics Charter for Magistrates in December 2025. Calls to make the HCJ's opinion mandatory on prosecutor nominations (as for judges) were renewed by the National Assembly President on 13 January 2026. Budgets sustained recruitment targets of 1,500 magistrates and 1,800 clerks by 2027. Court fees of EUR 50 were introduced for some civil and labour courts via the 2026 Finance Act, exempting legal aid beneficiaries. Digitalisation of criminal procedures was fully implemented for felonies and misdemeanours; civil digital reporting continued, with Portalis deployed in all labour courts by 2025. The draft 'Rivage' decree proposes raising the appeal threshold from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10,000 and mandatory mediation below that amount. A draft law on criminal procedure was dropped in June 2026 after a negative committee vote. On anti-corruption, France scored 66/100 in the 2026 Corruption Perceptions Index (11th in EU, 27th globally). The 2025-2029 National Plan Against Corruption was adopted in November 2025. The Registry on Foreign Influence began operating, but lobbying disclosure obligations were not extended to top-executive officials. On media and civil society, ARCOM expanded its regulatory scope. A preliminary media ownership transparency database was developed, but full deployment depends on legislation. The Committee on Access to Administrative Documents (CADA) received record referrals. Case law strengthened journalist source protection. The report concludes that France made some progress on digitalising criminal procedures and anti-corruption planning, but stalled on extending lobbying transparency to top officials and faced criticism over proposed restrictions on the right to appeal.