• Gérald Darmanin announced this Wednesday the experimentation of the videocomplaint, before its generalization in 2024 as part of the digital transformation plan of the Ministry of the Interior.
  • This remote complaint has been experimented since May 9 in the department of Yvelines. In concrete terms, the complainant must first choose a slot on the Ministry of the Interior's "My Security" application, then join a videoconference call at an agreed time.
  • The videocomplaint makes it possible to deal with any type of litigation faced by the victim. With this new device, gendarmes and police officers hope to save time, comparable to what Doctolib has allowed in the health sector.

Filing a complaint is now as simple as a phone call. The Minister of the Interior announced, this Wednesday, during a press conference, the experimentation of the video-complaint for ten days in the department of Yvelines. The service, which allows the filing of a complaint without having to travel, will be generalized in the rest of the country in 2024. "It will always be possible to file a complaint for any reason in a police station or gendarmerie brigade. But we can now also do it in a distant way, "said Gérald Darmanin, adding that this progress is included in the Lopmi, voted last year.

The services of the Place Beauvau have worked "with a French company on a prototype tested since May 9 in the CSP (public security district) of Elancourt and in the area of competence of the gendarmerie brigade of Magny les Hameaux, in the Yvelines," said the general controller of the police in charge of the project, Adeline Champagnat. How does it work? The complainant must go to the "My Security" application, launched in March 2022. He identifies himself using his France Connect account and chooses an appointment slot, a bit like on Doctolib. He then receives a login link by email and text message. At the indicated time, he clicks and starts his conversation with a policeman or gendarme, depending on his place of residence.

Better care

As in a conversation on WhatsApp, it is possible to exchange documents, mute your microphone or the camera of your phone or computer. Complaints can concern all offences, "whether offences against persons or offences against property", stressed Adeline Champagnat. If it is a complaint against X, the victim will receive a confirmation email that will be attached to the report. She will not need to travel. "On the other hand, if it is a complaint against a named person, it will be mandatory to have the signature of the complainant. The police and gendarmes in charge of the file will offer him to move to his home or any other place agreed with him, "she explained.



The service must thus make it possible to better take care of people who have difficulty moving, such as the elderly or people with reduced mobility. But also those who do not have the opportunity to file a complaint during normal opening hours, or who fear wasting time. "We conducted an initial survey of 479 users, and 80% of them said they were in favour of video-complaints, preferably on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and from 20 p.m. to 22 p.m. This will suppose, in organizational terms, to modify things in the brigades or in the police stations," observed Adeline Champagnat, adding that "on weekends, there is, in principle, no judicial unit to take complaints". The experiment must also make it possible "to ensure the fluidity of the journey", "the citizen's ability to access the service", and also "to draw lessons on the technical level".

Simple as a form

Even simpler: for a theft whose perpetrator is not known - your bike, for example - it is possible to file a complaint online without the help of anyone. The victim will only have to fill out a form on the Internet, which requires only fifteen minutes. She can even do it in the middle of the night. The complaint will be validated in a second time by the police. "The idea is to directly replace the online pre-complaint and reduce travel to a brigade or police station to the strict minimum necessary," said Colonel Barnabé Watin-Augouard, in charge of the project. The experimentation of this service, which is therefore "for the moment limited to crimes against property against unknown persons", will be launched next September. It could then be generalized before the end of the year.

  • Society
  • Police
  • Gendarmerie
  • Minister of the Interior
  • Ministry of the Interior
  • Gerald Darmanin
  • Ile