Just days before the electronic invoicing reform is set to take effect, Sarah Knafo is calling on Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to suspend the measure. The MEP from the Reconquête! party cites the recent cyberattack that hit the Directorate General of Public Finances and questions the State's ability to protect the data it centralizes.
Sarah Knafo wants to put a stop to the widespread adoption of electronic invoicing. This Friday, August 21, the MEP from the Reconquête! party directly questioned Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on X.
“Mr. @SebLecornu, you must immediately suspend the mandatory use of electronic invoicing and your work on online identity verification,” she wrote. She justified her request by citing the recent cyberattacks targeting the French Public Finances Directorate (DGFiP): “A state incapable of protecting our data and which doesn’t tell us how it intends to improve is not legitimate in further centralizing our information.”
The cyberattack on the DGFiP (French Public Finances Directorate) is at the heart of his argument.
Sarah Knafo's offensive comes after the revelation of a major tax data leak. According to available information, the attack exposed data concerning approximately 678,000 individuals and businesses. The government has acknowledged the seriousness of the incident and a crisis management procedure has been initiated.
The French tax authority (DGFiP) indicates that the unauthorized access to its information system dates back to June and July 2026 and that it was claimed on August 12 and 13. The administration specifies, however, that the impots.gouv.fr website, as well as users' personal and professional accounts, were not compromised.
Sarah Knafo had already reacted to this affair by denouncing what she called a "state scandal". She demanded, in particular, explanations from the DGFiP (French Public Finances Directorate), the ANSSI (French National Cybersecurity Agency) and the government regarding the people involved, the protection measures planned and the time elapsed between the first intrusions and their public disclosure.
The MEP drew a parallel with two digital projects led by the government: online identity and age verification, and the widespread adoption of electronic invoicing. Sarah Knafo believes the recently identified vulnerabilities should prompt the government to review its data centralization policy.
A reform that is due to come into effect on September 1st
The request comes at a particularly sensitive time: the first obligations related to electronic invoicing are due to come into effect on September 1, 2026, i.e. in a few days.
By this date, all relevant French companies must be able to receive electronic invoices. Large and medium-sized companies will also have to issue them in this format and transmit certain transaction and payment data to the tax authorities. SMEs, very small businesses, and micro-enterprises have an additional grace period until September 1, 2027, to comply with the obligation to issue electronic invoices.
Nearly ten million VAT-registered businesses are affected by the reform. Invoices must be processed through state-approved platforms, either directly or via compatible solutions. Last January, the French Public Finances Directorate (DGFiP) announced an initial list of 101 approved platforms.
Presented by Bercy as a reform intended to simplify exchanges, improve invoice tracking and modernize relations between businesses and administration, electronic invoicing also involves the transmission to the administration of a set of data relating to transactions.
It is precisely on this point that Sarah Knafo is now focusing her offensive. In her view, the cyberattack on the DGFiP calls into question the State's ability to guarantee the security of a system designed to process the data of millions of businesses.
Community
Comments
Write a comment
Be the first to comment on this article.