Paris - A vehicle of change

 Dematerialisation is one of the many areas in which the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP) is taking an active part. The CCIP belongs to several steering committees on dematerialisation, notably those of CFEnet (see our article on the Oise CCI) and the internet site www.marches.cci.fr, which provides access to the markets of all the French CCIs.           
Since January 2005, in accordance with article 56 of the code of government contracts, responses to invitations to tender can now be submitted by e-mail. The administration is not allowed to refuse applications transmitted electronically. This obligation concerns government contracts exceeding 150,000 euros for the State and public institutions and those exceeding 230,000 euros for territorial authorities.           
ChamberSign electronic signature certificates can be used to put in tenders. ChamberSign France, a non-profit organisation created in September 2000, recently organised the first national e-administration day. The event, held on 13 October, was not merely informative, but also served as an opportunity to take stock of the success of the State's electronic procedures and on-line services. The Paris CCI devoted the day to the theme of the electronic signature and its applications to e-administration. Martin Lethielleux, who heads the CCIP's electronic signature project, explains. "The goal was to promote these secure procedures to companies and explain how useful they are," he says. "Twelve stands were set up for this purpose, devoted in particular to tele-VAT (the only procedure in the world for invoicing VAT via the internet), the URSSAF (the French social security contribution collection agency), and net-entreprises, the official web site for social contribution declarations." The programme included thirty-minute educational talks accompanied with screen presentations.           
The large attendance at the event (529 registered participants), is a good indication of procedural changes in France, in particular with respect to government contracts – changes resulting not from a French initiative but from a European Parliament and Council directive in 2004. "All the town halls and administrative structures have put their invitations to tender on line," says Lethielleux. "They really have no choice, given the directive, but it is also, and above all, a matter of the vital necessity to cut costs and still remain operational."
Private companies present at the e-administration day were enthusiastic about electronic transmission, albeit still somewhat cautious. They increasingly acknowledge, in particular thanks to the efforts of the CCIs to promote it, the many advantages of the new method – cutting down on the mass of documents transmitted, limiting the risk of tasks being forgotten, and optimising productivity, among others.