Influence: what French law requires to be made public
- Published on
- Author
Sébastien Couderc- Category
- Influence communications
Since 2017, interest representatives in France must declare their activity to an independent authority. What that obligation changes, and what it leaves open.
An activity now named
For a long time, influence work carried no obligation beyond that of committing no offence. The French law of 9 December 2016 on transparency, anti-corruption and the modernisation of economic life changed this: it created a register of interest representatives, kept by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life.
The principle is simple. An organisation seeking to shape a public decision declares itself, states whom it acts for and on which subjects, and reports each year on the actions it has taken.
What disclosure makes visible
Transparency first produces identification. It makes anonymity impossible: we know who is speaking, on whose behalf, and on which file.
It then produces a record. Annual declarations leave a usable trail, including for those who take no part in the discussion. A case can be read as a series of dated steps, rather than as a set of conversations known only to the participants.
What it does not settle
It would be naive to think that declaration guarantees the quality of the debate. It says who acts, not whether the argument is sound. It says on which subjects, not whether the request is legitimate. It says with what means, not whether the relationship is healthy.
In other words, the law organises visibility, not intellectual integrity. The latter is settled in the way work is done: what one agrees to defend, what one refuses, and how that is explained to the client.
Three questions to ask your adviser
A board that wants to know where it stands can ask three simple questions.
Who is declared, and under which name? A serious firm knows its status in the register and which entity appears there.
What do you keep of our exchanges? A record of sources, meetings and notes is not a luxury: it is what allows a relationship to be defended if it is challenged.
Where is the line with lobbying? Not all influence work is interest representation in the legal sense, and the reverse is also true. The answer must be precise, not reassuring.
What it changes for a board
Influence is a relationship business, and a relationship cannot be decreed. It is built over time, with identified counterparts, verifiable arguments and a word that is kept.
The legal framework has not made this work harder. It has made it more legible, which is rather good news for those who practise it properly.
On this ground, see influence communications. For the regions where this work is carried out abroad, see where we work.
This insight extends our Influence communications expertise.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to register to do influence work in France?
Registration with the HATVP register is required for interest representation as defined by the law of 9 December 2016, which covers organisations and individuals acting on behalf of an identified interest. The register is public and free to consult.
What does the register actually contain?
Who is acting, on whose behalf, on which subjects, with what resources and what actions carried out during the year. It does not contain the content of the arguments or the assessment of their merits.
Does registration guarantee ethical practice?
No. The law organises visibility, not intellectual integrity. What distinguishes a serious practice is the record kept of sources and meetings, and the ability to say what one refuses to do.
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