On Wednesday, December 17, members of the Assemblรฉe Nationale voted to extend the algorithmic video surveillance trial โ a controversial security technology tested during the Paris Olympic Games. Although the trial ended in March 2025, it is now set to resume and continue until December 31, 2027.
The extension, long requested by various stakeholders, including the French government, was included in the bill on organizing the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, currently being debated in the Assemblรฉe Nationale. A vote on the full bill is expected on January 6.
Algorithmic video surveillance (VSA) is a technology that analyzes surveillance camera feeds to detect specific predefined events. Several technologies are currently being developed by French companies, including automatic detection of crowd movements, intrusions into restricted areas, people lying on the ground and fire outbreaks.
The new bill does not introduce significant changes in this area and mainly updates the experimental dates set out in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games law that established the measure.
Mixed results
Some MPs pointed to the mixed results from trials conducted during the Paris Games period. A report published in January 2025 by an evaluation committee sharply criticized the effectiveness of certain technologies and questioned the real operational value of VSA for public safety.
However, the report also highlighted a significant lack of data, preventing any firm conclusions about the usefulness of these tools. The system “could only be implemented for brief periods associated with major events and, for the most part, only a single artificial intelligence solution could be properly tested,” noted the report from the Sรฉnat’s law commission on the bill for organizing the Winter Olympic Games. During debates in the Assemblรฉe Nationale, French sports minister Marina Ferrari defended the “need” to collect “more data.”