Mr Vincent Caure asks the Minister of the Interior about the exclusion of certain elected consular officials from the list of categories of people eligible for a service passport, established by decree no. 2015-701 of 19 June 2015, amending decree no. 2005-1726 of 30 December 2005. The 2013 reform relating to the representation of French nationals living outside France established the principle that consular representatives should not be issued with service passports. While this principle is understandable for consular councillors elected in so-called ‘safe’ countries, it has consequences for others, particularly those elected in conflict zones or countries classified as orange or red by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. Without a service passport, these elected representatives may find themselves unable to cross the borders of certain countries and run significant risks associated with armed conflict. The issue of a service passport would give these elected representatives safer access to the French communities in their constituencies. Having been alerted to this point by the Assemblée des Français de l'étranger, he asks whether consideration is being given to allowing certain consular representatives to benefit from a service passport and thus fully exercise their mandate without risk.
