France allows genetic genealogy in criminal investigations.

The French Parliament this week definitively adopted a bill authorizing investigators to consult the databases of private companies offering recreational genetic testing. This method has already been used outside the law to arrest a serial rapist.

The case of the "Forest Predator" highlighted the limitations of the French legal system. This man, identified as Bruno Llambrich Gonzalvo, had committed at least five rapes between 1998 and 2008. Investigators had his DNA from the beginning, but had no legal means of tracing him. It was by using genetic genealogy, a method imported from the United States, that the unit specializing in unsolved cases was finally able to identify and arrest him in 2022. He confessed to the crimes before committing suicide in his cell in March 2024, without ever having been brought to trial.

To achieve this, the police had disregarded European legislation on the protection of personal data, which strictly regulates the use of recreational DNA tests. These tests, marketed by private companies, allow millions of individuals to trace their origins or identify family members. Their databases constitute a powerful tool for investigators, provided they have access to them.

The criminal justice bill, debated in the National Assembly and then definitively adopted by Parliament on July 9, takes this step. The text now authorizes the use of these methods in criminal investigations, paving the way for the official consultation of these private databases.

Opposition is fierce on the left. More than 120 members of parliament have challenged the bill, and the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights also opposes it. Their arguments converge: "People who took a DNA test for fun did not consent to their data being used in the justice system." On July 13, these MPs initiated proceedings to challenge the law, the outcome of which remains unknown due to the incomplete nature of the available source.