Protection of secrecy - Clearance

The contract granting of a contract, under public or private law, that requires access to protected information or material (1) for the purposes of its execution (2), is subject to the prior clearance of the legal entity of the company selected (3) for said contract.

The security clearance process for the legal entity of a company is initiated by:

  the public corporation or an industrial company, during the solicitation process (with or without publication of a notice for a call for tender) for a proposed classified contract or contract with security clauses,

  an industrial company holds a classified contract or contract with security clauses when deciding to subcontract part of the provision of protected services.

Company personnel that require access to classified information for the purposes of executing the contract require individual clearance. Clearance of such personnel is undertaken once the legal entity of the company has received clearance.

(1) the notion of "protected information or material" used in the French Order of 18 April 2005 is equivalent to the notion of "classified information" used in French Decree No.98-608 of 17 July 1998.

(3) nonetheless, the fact that a company does not have clearance shall not be a reason for it to be excluded from a call for tender or selection process. Should its participation prove apposite, appropriate provisions may be made, depending on the specific nature of the call for tender or selection process, to ensure the security of classified information during this precontractual phase.

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