According to Le Monde, the bill has been criticised by the French people as a "snoopers" charter that allows police unfettered access to the location of its citizens. Coppers can activate cameras and microphones to take video and audio recordings of suspects.

The bill will reportedly only apply to suspects in crimes that are punishable by a minimum of five years in jail and Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti claimed that the new provision would only affect a few dozen cases per year.

During a debate over the bill yesterday, French politicians added an amendment that orders judge approval for any surveillance conducted under the scope of the bill and limits the duration of surveillance to six months.

French advocacy group La Quadrature du Net said in a statement on Twitter that for organised crime, the police can have access to the sound and image of a device. T

"This concerns any connected device: telephone, speaker microphone, computer camera, computer system of a car... all without the knowledge of the persons concerned. In view of the growing place of digital tools in our lives, accepting the very principle that they are transformed into police auxiliaries without our being aware of it poses a serious problem in our societies."

In 2021, France passed a bill that would expand the French police force's ability to monitor civilians using drones. Apparently this was an effort to protect officers from increasingly violent protestors.