On the occasion of the 2026 French National Bioethics Consultation, the debate over the liberalization of genetic testing has returned to the forefront. In an op-ed published in L’Express on February 8, Franck Ramus supports the bill introduced by MP Natalia Pouzyreff aimed at authorizing access to recreational and genealogical genetic testing in France.
This initiative calls into question a French exception: the near-total ban on DNA testing outside a medical, judicial, or scientific framework.
Today, France applies one of the most restrictive regimes in Europe. So-called “recreational” or genealogical genetic tests are prohibited, even though millions of Europeans and Americans use them. In practice, many French citizens circumvent this ban by sending their saliva samples to foreign laboratories. The offense exists in law, but it is almost never prosecuted. This situation creates both normative inconsistency and a strategic vacuum.
The op-ed published in L’Express very pertinently highlights several major issues.
The question of the right to know one’s origins
People born anonymously, conceived through medically assisted reproduction, or faced with uncertain parentage currently have only limited means of accessing certain biological, and therefore medical, information concerning themselves. Genetic tests can, in some cases, dispel concerns, confirm genealogical hypotheses, or reveal biological relatives.
On this issue, the patented GENARO process provides a concrete solution. It consists in carrying useful data throughout the entire high-throughput DNA sequencing workflow, from sample collection to the database, including a unique key, indexing reference, encryption, computational instructions, and more. Among other things, it will make it possible to provide the genomic data needed by people born anonymously while preserving the anonymity of the donor or the mother. The same applies to resolving the similar issue involving organ and gamete donors.
On the use of genomic data for genealogy, scientific research, forensic science, and beyond
The comparison of genetic profiles makes it possible to identify matches, unblock family branches, and consolidate sometimes incomplete archives. Beyond the personal dimension, such data also contribute to a better sociological and anthropological understanding.
More broadly, regarding the need to provide Science with anonymized, reliable, and secure genomic data, the GENARO process once again offers an innovative solution. It will help facilitate research by creating anonymized and secure extemporaneous databases, with systematic recourse to individual consent, like an Ariadne’s thread constantly linking individuals to their data while fully complying with all applicable regulations, in particular the GDPR.
Lastly, there is the forensic dimension. In several countries, genetic genealogy has made it possible to solve old criminal cases by identifying indirect relatives of a suspect. In France, the use of such private databases remains highly regulated. Legislative change is being considered, but consistency requires that the issue of citizen access to genetic tests be addressed at the same time.
Here again, the GENARO process provides a concrete solution for the use of such databases, as advocated, for example, by the IRCGN.
On ownership and the patrimonial value of genomic data
As for the principle—central to Franck Ramus’s op-ed—that an individual’s genetic heritage belongs to that individual, the GENARO process again offers a comprehensive solution. It would allow the State to regulate the use of genomic data while enabling individuals to assert both ownership and patrimonial rights over it.
The author also rightly points out that genetic data are among the most sensitive forms of personal data. Their collection must be based on informed consent, their storage must be secure, and their use must be strictly controlled, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is precisely here that the real crux of the debate currently lies.
The GENARO process positively cuts through this Gordian knot: it will make it possible to fully comply with the regulations in force, including informed consent, the right to withdraw in real time, and data security. Better still, it will even enable lawmakers to innovate without making any concessions whatsoever on the need to preserve the security of people’s genomic data.
The issue is not merely whether to authorize or prohibit. It is how to organize an ecosystem in which access to genomic data is possible while guaranteeing the highest possible level of protection, traceability, and sovereignty. GENARO’s innovation will make it possible to structure this ecosystem of identity vigilance, traceability, and security.
The challenge is not ideological. It is structural.
The bioinformatics process proposed by GENARO could profoundly and positively transform current frameworks of thought by offering a concrete and realistic scientific solution to all of these contentious issues.
They are only insoluble in appearance: the solution exists.
