The French Government is to launch a nation wide telephone hotline for accessing public services.
The service, known as Allo Service Public, will provide access to information already provided by the country's main e-government portal. The Rhône-Alps region has started to pilot the service, which is due to cover the whole country by 2005. It is to be available by dialing just four digits -- 39 39.
Service-public.fr, the e-government portal, is itself under further development. Along with the telephone service, the French Government is to make the portal more personalised.
According to an official statement, France's e-government agency is to create a "personal administrative space" called mon.service-public.fr, allowing people to "manage" their relationship with the Government.
The agency has already added some new features to the portal. In November 2003 it introduced a section for "professionals" giving advice and information to small businesses and self employed workers.
Information can be accessed in a variety of ways through the portal. Users are able to view content arranged by theme, such as legal and tax issues; by type of profession; or according to the particular form required.
The moves follow much soul searching over e-government in the French administration.
In September 2003 French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin sent a highly critical circular to fellow ministers highlighting his disappointment with the country's e-government progress. The new developments come following ministerial efforts to redraw their strategic plans for e-government.
Quelle: Kablenet, 21.11.2003
