Civil servants must respect certain obligations when they are in the workplace. These obligations restrict their freedom of expression.
Obligation of neutrality
Civil servants have a limited freedom of expression during the performance of their duties because if they were allowed to express their opinions in any way, this would cast doubt on their ability to comply with the fundamental rule of neutrality, which is linked to the French principle of equality of all before the public service. Therefore, civil servants must not give the impression that they could advantage or disadvantage users of the public service according to their opinions. This idea is embodied in the obligation of neutrality of civil servants.
This obligation of neutrality applies to all employees working in a public service while they are on duty. It prevents them from expressing, during their work, their personal opinions in any way whatsoever, whether through their words, the way they dress or their behaviour.
example A public teacher in secondary school was suspended for the content of his history lessons by which he breached his obligation of neutrality (he had made revisionist comments during a lesson on the Second World War).
In religious matters, this obligation of neutrality is linked to the principle of secularity (laïcité) which prevents civil servants from expressing their religious opinions while working.
example The Council of State considered that a civil servant breached his obligation of neutrality and the principle of secularity by using the resources of his department to communicate with a sect and appearing on the public website of this sect as a member, while mentioning his professional e-mail address.
Professional discretion
Aside from this obligation of neutrality, civil servants must also exercise professional discretion regarding all facts, information or documents of which they become aware while they are on duty. This does not prevent them from sharing information between departments or administrations, but it limits their possibility of publicly disclosing detailed information of which they have become aware in the performance of their duties.
example The dissemination on social media by a civil servant of detailed information relating to the organisation of a police station (photographs, organisation of the video surveillance system) may be penalised.
Professional secrecy
Moreover, civil servants are bound by professional secrecy when they are in possession of information covered by secret. This secrecy aims to protect either the action of the administration (for example to protect information regarding national defence) or the rights of private individuals (for example to protect medical information, tax information, secrecy of correspondence etc.). This obligation not to reveal such information applies to civil servants unless the law allows them or require them to disclose that information.
Whistleblowers
There is an exception to these rules on professional discretion and secrecy: civil servants are allowed to infringe these rules when they act as whistle-blowers to reveal a crime, an offence, a serious breach of law (international, European, or national law) or a threat to the public interest. However, information covered by national defence confidentiality, by medical secret or by the confidentiality of relations between a lawyer and his client are excluded from this exception.
Sanctions
In the event of an alleged breach of his/her obligations, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against the civil servant concerned. These proceedings may result in a decision imposing a disciplinary sanction. During this procedure the civil servant has the right to access his personal file and to have the assistance of a lawyer of his or her choice.
Different sanctions can be imposed on the civil servant who breached his obligations. These can be a warning, an exclusion of varying length, measures affecting career progression, compulsory retirement or dismissal.