France Orders Surprise Saliva Drug Tests for Senior Public Officials

Overview

• The Prime Minister issued a circulaire on June 16 requiring inopportune saliva tests for ministers' cabinets, high officials with access to sensitive information and holders of security habilitations.
• The measure targets roughly 300 senior figures, including about 200 ambassadors, and foresees a mandatory blood or urine confirmatory test if a first saliva result is positive.
• Ministers must list posts that may face regular screening and submit action plans by June 26, with possible outcomes for positives ranging from non‑recruitment and referral to care to disciplinary sanctions or revocation.
• Matignon frames the policy as a security and exemplariness measure to prevent exploitation by criminal networks or foreign interference, while some ministers endorse it and unions and legal advisers question its legality and privacy safeguards.
• The government has signalled a possible later extension to private 'at‑risk' sectors such as transport and construction but says that would require formal consultation with social partners and further procedural work.