Legal information

Picture credits

The photographs on this site are taken from various sources. Unless otherwise stated, they come from the photographic and audiovisual production unit of the embassy or of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For any reproduction request (graphics, photos and videos: contact us [mettre un lien vers le formulaire de contact]) (NB: please give the link to the page concerned)

Reproduction rights

In accordance with public intellectual property law, in particular Article L. 122-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code, there is no restriction on the reuse of "official documents":
 statements, speeches, press packs and communiqués;
 circulars, guidelines and other regulatory documents;
 CERFA forms.

As a matter of etiquette, however, any partial or complete reproduction of such content should clearly state the author’s name, the source and, where relevant, include a link to the original online document on the embassy website.

All other content on the embassy website is covered by copyright. Any reproduction is therefore subject to the author’s consent in accordance with Article L. 122-4 of the French Intellectual Property Code.

This applies in particular to texts prepared by embassy staff in order to provide the French and foreign public, via the internet, with information about the embassy’s activities, about foreign policy in general and, more specifically for foreign visitors, with a presentation of France. Such content may not be freely reproduced without first obtaining permission and without stating the source.

Such information may be reused for non-commercial, and especially educational, purposes provided that the integrity of the information is respected, that its meaning, scope or application is not changed in any way, and that the origin and date of publication are specified.

Such information may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes without express permission and without obtaining a licence to reuse public information. The use of public information to create a product or service intended to be made available to third parties, free of charge or for valuable consideration, is deemed to constitute reuse for commercial or promotional purposes.

Requests for permission to reproduce content should be sent to the embassy’s website’s editors by e-mail addressed to the webmaster info@ambafrance-us.org.

Reproduction for commercial or advertising purposes will not be permitted, save in exceptional cases.

Hypertext links to the embassy website

Any public or private website may, without prior permission, establish a link (including a deep link) to the information provided by the embassy.

For websites, the authorised reproduction of content must very clearly state the document’s origin in the form of an internet address: xxx.ambafrance.org / yyy.consulfrance.org / zzz.delegfrance.org

The words "All rights reserved" should be added at the bottom of each page.

"Deep links" pointing directly to the desired document should be preferred to the reproduction of content.

In such cases no prior permission is needed to establish links to the franceintheus.org website, though explicit mention of the embassy website in the title of the link is recommended.

Websites that choose to point towards franceintheus.org may be held liable if they harm the image of the public website.

Hypertext links proposed by the the embassy website

Many links to other sites, private or official, French or foreign, are proposed. The embassy does not, by the fact of their presence, incur any liability for their content. Their only purpose is to make it easier for internet users to find other documentary resources on the subject consulted.

Writing to the webmaster

It is possible to send comments or suggestions to the webmaster of the site. The webmaster will endeavor to take them into account but cannot reply to specific requests or requests that concern matters other than the strict administrative or technical management of the website.

To write to the webmaster, please use our contact page. Thank you.

Site design and management

The embassy website publishes information generated by all its departments and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The embassy press office is responsible for the day-to-day editorial, graphical and technical maintenance of the site.

The website is hosted by ECRITEL.

The site has been developed with SPIP, open source software under the GNU/GPL licence.

What is an RSS feed?

RSS is an internet content syndication format.

Syndication is a way of exchanging information (text, links, images) between websites, which are automatically updated.

In particular, it allows a website to display information from another site while keeping its own layout and graphic style.

Whether you are a webmaster or a user of information aggregation software, the site offers you a free RSS feed containing the latest news published on the homepage. Each link proposed gives the date and time of publication, the title of the document and a short summary where available.

To retrieve the RSS feed, click on this icon at the bottom of the website page.

An acronym for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, RSS is based on the XML standard.

All RSS files must comply with the XML 1.0 specification published on the website of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Accessibility

The the embassy website has been developed in accordance with
French government accessibility guidelines (Référentiel Général d’Accéssiblité des Administrations, RGAA) and W3C standards.

The site is compatible with all available browsers and is accessible to all, except in the event of force majeure.

We are committed to constantly improving the accessibility of our content to ensure access to the information on the website, especially with regard to "mobility" aspects.
Liability

The information on this site is provided as a public service. Despite all the care taken in transcribing official texts and verifying content and information, the information placed online does not in any way claim to be exact and the embassy incurs no liability for it.

The information and/or documents available on this site may be amended at any time and may be updated.

The embassy may not under any circumstances be held liable for any damage whatsoever arising from the interpretation or use of information and/or documents available on this site.
Governing law

Wherever it may be used, this website is governed by French law. In the event of any dispute, and if all attempts to reach an amicable solution fail, the French courts alone shall have jurisdiction.

If you have any questions concerning these terms of use, you can write to us at the following address:

Embassy of France / Press Office
4101 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, D.C. – 20007