France drops plan to force backdoors into WhatsApp and Signal

Intelligence services versus confidentiality

Intelligence agencies want 16 bis scrapped so they can reach some encrypted discussions in sensitive or criminal cases. Messaging platforms, and many of their users, want to preserve the promise of fully confidential conversations that the state cannot read. Backdoors also double as potential weaknesses that hackers could exploit, a concern tied to the cyberattacks that have hit France in recent months.

The CNCTR, the body overseeing intelligence techniques, has meanwhile criticised the fact that computer data collection, meant as a last resort, has become almost "automatic". It also says investigators tend to gather large amounts of data and keep only what interests them.

Florent Boudié, a Conseil d'État member and former Renaissance deputy who led a government mission on messaging encryption, urged the government to give up the option of imposing backdoors. He also asked it to delete article 16 bis, which he considers too restrictive for intelligence services. Digital minister Anne Le Hénanff criticised the article's "harmful impact" on those services and confirmed the executive will back its removal.

What comes next

Boudié wants the state to "identify a technical solution allowing targeted access to protected content without compromising the integrity of encryption". No such solution has been named yet. The resilience bill goes before the National Assembly from 9 November 2026.