Integrity Toolkit

France

Public Procurement Guide – Managing Corruption Risk in the Public Procurement Cycle

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Integrity in public procurement is crucial to ensure that public money is spent efficiently and effectively, where it is most needed. As a strategic area of governance, with overarching impact on the whole of society, public procurement needs to be equipped with robust anti-corruption safeguards, tailored to its specific risks. To this end, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) and the Department for Public Procurement (DAE) published a guide on how to manage corruption risks in the public procurement cycle. Combining the inputs of both ethics and procurement practitioners, this guide aims to help public sector entities to design, develop, and implement effective corruption prevention systems, while raising integrity standards and promoting professionalism in public procurement.

 

The French Anticorruption Agency’s Guidelines to Help Public and Private Sector Entities to Prevent and Detect Corruption

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The French Anticorruption Agency (AFA)’s guidelines’ aim to help organizations, whether public or private, big or small, French or foreign, to prevent and detect corruption and related offences against integrity. Developed through a collaborative process, these recommendations stem from the experience acquired during the past three years, as well as the feedback from multiple stakeholders, gathered via a public consultation. In particular, they include inputs from government entities, trade associations, consulting firms, and NGOs. In accordance with international best standards, the AFA’s guidelines provide comprehensive guidance on how to design and implement an effective anti-corruption program.

Their structure is composed of three key parts, tailored to the specific needs of various kinds of organizations:

  • The first part contains general guidance applicable to all entities. This guidance revolves around three pillars: the commitment of senior management, the accurate knowledge of the corruption risks to which the entity is exposed (corruption risk mapping), and the management of these risks through prevention, detection, and remediation measures.
  • The second part concerns large companies subject to the compliance requirements of the 2016 French Anti-Corruption Law, known as Sapin II.
  • The third section is dedicated to organizations of the public sector.

Wide-ranging, yet precise, the AFA’s guidelines are a valuable resource to anti-corruption practitioners both in France and abroad.

Online Quiz on Public Integrity Breaches

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The French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) created a quiz that allows public officials to test their understanding of public integrity risks and to assess their knowledge of the main infractions related to integrity breaches, i.e. bribery, influence peddling, extortion by public officials, illegal taking of interest, misappropriation of public funds, and favoritism. The examples used in this quiz are taken from real-life situations and from recent case law. Explanations are provided for each scenario and 4 levels of difficulty are available.

National Diagnostic Survey of Anti-Corruption Systems in Businesses

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In February 2020, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) launched, in collaboration with French trade federations, a national diagnostic survey of nearly 2,000 companies of all business sectors in order to assess the maturity of their corruption prevention and detection systems. The diagnostic survey’s findings, presented in this document, cover a vast array of businesses ranging from SMEs to large corporations, whether or not they fall within the scope of the compliance obligations set out in Article 17 of the 2016 French Anti-Corruption Law, known as Sapin II.

Practical Guide on Gifts and Hospitality Policy in Corporations and Non-Profits

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By making a gift of a good or service, with no expectation of anything in return, an organization may show its attachment to certain values and traditions. Gifts and hospitality may also be part of its promotional strategy. Such gifts and hospitality are part of the normal way of doing business. This generosity, in itself, is neither illegal nor immoral, but, under certain circumstances, may give rise to suspicions about hidden advantages received in return that could expose the organization to integrity risks. Indeed, when given or received with a view to creating an obligation and leading the recipient to betray the interests under their responsibility, such gifts may result in bribery or influence peddling. A corporate policy setting the official rules for offering and receiving gifts and hospitality (“gifts and hospitality policy”) constitutes a key tool for managing such risks. In this context, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) published a guide that aims to help companies, whether public or private, and non-profits to design and effectively implement a gifts and hospitality policy.

Practical Guide on the Corporate Anti-Corruption Compliance Function

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The French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) published this guide in order to help senior managers to structure an effective, integrated anti-corruption compliance function in their companies. Specifically, the guide highlights that the appointment of an anti-corruption compliance officer, the officer’s hierarchical position, and the resources allocated to this function can serve as evidence of senior management’s commitment to the prevention and detection of corruption.