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Infineon Technologies supplies the security chips for the new electronic driving license (eDriver license) issued in France as of September 2013. The new polycarbonate smart card successively replacing the traditional paper document contains an embedded SLE78 microprocessor with ‘Integrity Guard’. The microprocessor securely stores biometric and personal data of the license holder protecting his or her identity while helping to reduce fraud. Secure authentication of the eDriver license, will also help the police to increase safety on the street: a major issue in France, where up to ten per cent of driving licenses in circulation are believed to be counterfeit. (Source « L’usurpation d’Identité » Guy de Felcourt, CNRS éditions–Juillet 2011)
As of 2033 standardized driving licenses in the credit card form will become mandatory across Europe. Currently there are 110 different versions, formats and security levels in circulation. France, one of Europe’s most populous states (approximately 65 million citizens), is a forerunner in issuing electronic driving licenses and residence permits according to latest EU standards. The eDriver license is also used as identification document and must be updated every fifteen years. It will be produced by the Imprimerie Nationale, the state printer in France.
Beside electronic passports, IDs and electronic residence permits, the electronic driving license is another example for the introduction of harmonized, electronic identification documents within the European Union, which is particularly driven by the European Commission’s Digital Agenda.