French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceHearings of persons held in police custody for a crime, carried out on the premises of a police or gendarmerie service or unit carrying out a judicial police mission, shall be subject to audiovisual recording.
The recording may only be consulted, during the investigation or before the court of trial, if the content of the minutes of the hearing is contested, by decision of the investigating judge or the court of trial, at the request of the public prosecutor or one of the parties. The last eight paragraphs of Article 114 are not applicable. Where a party requests consultation of the recording, such request shall be made and the examining magistrate shall rule in accordance with the first two paragraphs of Article 82-1.
The dissemination by any person of a recording made pursuant to this article shall be punishable by one year's imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros.
At the end of a period of five years from the date on which the prosecution was terminated, the recording shall be destroyed within one month.
When the number of persons in police custody to be questioned simultaneously, in the course of the same or separate proceedings, makes it impossible to record all the hearings, the judicial police officer shall refer the matter without delay to the public prosecutor who shall designate, by written decision placed in the file, in the light of the requirements of the investigation, the person or persons whose hearings shall not be recorded.
When the recording cannot be made due to a technical impossibility, this is mentioned in the hearing report, which specifies the nature of this impossibility. The public prosecutor is immediately notified.
A decree shall specify, as necessary, the terms of application of this article.
