BORIS SÉMÉNIAKO
France's "screwdriver rapist" could, despite himself, go down in history. Forensic history may remember this name not because of a horrific crime that took place in the suburbs of the western city of Poitiers in 2015, which long remained unsolved, but as the case that helped pave the way for the legalization of genetic genealogy research. More than just a step forward in police investigative techniques, this could mark a shift in France's until-now very cautious approach to bioethics and genetics.
In the SURE bill, the latest version of which was submitted to France's highest administrative court on Thursday, February 19, and which could be reviewed by the Council of Ministers in March, the justice minister plans to introduce an article that would, in particular, "authorize the use of genetic genealogy by allowing investigators, under judicial oversight, to consult private databases in the most serious criminal cases."
On October 18, 2025, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin traveled in person to the Nanterre judicial court to meet with the teams from the National Center for Serial or Unsolved Crimes, commonly known as the "cold cases unit." Darmanin informed them that he was considering a piece of legislation to "provide legal safeguards" for these new investigative techniques. "These advances are important for us, but also for the requests made by victims, friends and relatives and lawyers," said Yves Badorc, the Nanterre prosecutor.
