Police summons in France: must I attend a voluntary interview?

A phone call or a letter asks you to come to the police station or the gendarmerie "for an interview". You do not know why, or whether you might be kept there. A voluntary interview ("audition libre") is not police custody, but it can mark the start of an investigation against you. It pays to prepare. A lawyer can advise you in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

This article explains whether you must answer a police summons in France, which rights you keep during the voluntary interview and what may happen next.

In short: should you go?

Yes. Article 78 of the Code of Criminal Procedure obliges anyone summoned by a judicial police officer to attend. But once there, in a voluntary interview, you keep strong rights:

• you may leave at any time;
• you may answer, make statements or stay silent;
• you may bring a lawyer if the facts concern a crime or an offence punishable by prison;
• you are told the nature, date and place of the facts you are suspected of.

The right approach is to attend the voluntary interview, prepared, and in most cases with a lawyer.

What is a voluntary interview?

A voluntary interview lets an investigator question a person suspected of committing or attempting an offence, without holding them. Service-public, the French government's information site, describes it as a step that often marks the start of an investigation.

It differs from two other situations:

Situation	Your status	Can you leave?	Lawyer
Interview as a witness (art. 62)	No suspicion against you	Yes, but you can be held up to 4 hours if the investigation requires	Not provided
Voluntary interview (art. 61-1)	Suspect	Yes, at any time	Yes, for a crime or an offence punishable by prison
Police custody (art. 62-2 onwards)	Suspect held	No	Yes, from the start

Code of Criminal Procedure, consolidated text as of 23 October 2026.

A witness can switch to voluntary interview status during the questioning. If plausible reasons to suspect them appear, the investigator must notify their suspect rights without delay (Article 62).

The summons: what it must tell you

A summons to a voluntary interview may come by letter, phone, text message or email. It comes from a police officer, a gendarme or an authorised official, such as a labour inspector or a customs officer.

When it is in writing, and if the investigation allows, Article 61-1 requires it to state:

• the offence you are suspected of;
• your right to be assisted by a lawyer;
• the conditions for legal aid and how to get a duty lawyer;
• where you can get legal advice before the interview.

The investigator may leave out the reason to avoid flight, destruction of evidence or pressure on the victim. A call with no explanation says nothing about how serious the case is. Write down the investigator's name, unit and number.

What happens if I do not go?

Not attending a voluntary interview exposes you to the use of force. Article 78 allows the judicial police officer, with the prior authorisation of the public prosecutor, to have you brought in by the police. The prosecutor can even authorise this without a prior summons in some cases: risk to evidence, pressure on witnesses, collusion between accomplices.

A person brought in by force no longer falls under the voluntary interview rules (last paragraph of Article 61-1). If the legal conditions are met, the investigator may then place them in police custody, with 24 hours' deprivation of liberty. Our article on police custody and your rights explains that regime.

If the date does not suit you, call the investigator to suggest another slot, for example so your lawyer can come. The investigator sets the timing and need not hear you immediately, which in practice leaves room to discuss, but they do not have to agree.

Your rights during the voluntary interview

The investigator first checks your identity, then notifies your rights and records them in the report. Under Article 61-1, you have the right:

1. to know the facts: their legal classification, presumed date and place;
2. to leave the premises at any time;
3. to an interpreter if you do not understand French;
4. to make statements, answer questions or stay silent;
5. to be assisted by a lawyer, chosen or appointed as duty lawyer, for a crime or an offence punishable by prison;
6. to legal advice, free where applicable, at a legal access centre.

The law sets no fixed length for a voluntary interview. You cannot be handcuffed on the way or forced into a vehicle, since you come of your own accord.

The right to leave, in practice

This right is real. But if you leave while the investigator considers your presence essential, they can place you in custody, provided the law allows it (an offence punishable by prison and one of the aims in Article 62-2). Leaving is therefore a decision to make with your lawyer, not in the heat of the moment.

The right to stay silent

You may refuse to answer some or all questions. Silence is not an offence. It can help when you discover facts without knowing the file. Your lawyer helps you choose between silence, a prepared written statement and answering questions.

The lawyer's role in a voluntary interview

The lawyer attends the interview and any confrontation. At the end of each interview, they may ask questions; the investigator can only refuse them if they would harm the investigation (Article 63-4-3). They may also write observations that are added to the file.

However, the lawyer has no access to the file or to the interview reports, according to service-public. Hence the value of talking to them before the voluntary interview, to prepare likely questions and your answers.

You pay the fees unless you qualify for legal aid (aide juridictionnelle). In 2026 it is full for a single person whose reference tax income does not exceed €12,957. You can also ask the bar president (bâtonnier) for a duty lawyer.

You may agree to continue without your lawyer. That choice must be explicit: no one can force it on you.

The interview report: read before signing

At the end of the voluntary interview, the investigator records your statements in a report ("procès-verbal"). Read it line by line before signing.

• Ask for any sentence that does not reflect your words to be corrected.
• If you still disagree, refuse to sign: the refusal is noted in the report.
• You do not leave with a copy, and the interview is not filmed, according to service-public.

As soon as you leave, write down from memory the questions and your answers. Your lawyer will need it.

How to prepare for a police summons

A few days are enough to prepare a voluntary interview well:

• Read the summons and note the offence, date, unit and investigator.
• See a lawyer beforehand, even briefly, especially if you are a suspect.
• Gather useful documents: ID, the summons, papers linked to the facts (contracts, messages, invoices).
• Do not contact the victim or witnesses: it could look like pressure and justify custody.
• Tell your employer about the absence if needed, without details.
• Allow time: the interview may last several hours.

If a minor is summoned

In a voluntary interview, minors have extra safeguards. The investigator must inform their parents or the person caring for them (Article L. 412-1 of the Code of Juvenile Criminal Justice). For a crime or an offence punishable by prison, if neither the minor nor the parents ask for a lawyer, the investigator contacts the bar so that one is appointed (Article L. 412-2).

Our article on a minor arrested in France covers these rules.

After the voluntary interview

Several outcomes are possible:

• Nothing happens. If the prosecutor drops the case, you are not summoned again.
• A new summons, to complete the investigation.
• An alternative to prosecution, such as a probationary criminal warning (which replaced the former "rappel à la loi"), a course or a "composition pénale".
• Prosecution before the criminal court, or a judicial investigation.

If evidence points to you, service-public says an entry may be made in the police records file (TAJ). That file is not the criminal record, which our article on the criminal record in France explains.

Summoned as a victim

A summons may also follow your own complaint. If the investigator arranges a confrontation with the suspect, you may ask for a lawyer (Article 61-2). Our guides to sextortion and online harassment explain the victim's side.

When to get a lawyer

A lawyer is useful as soon as the summons treats you as a suspect, which is the case for any voluntary interview. They check the legal classification, prepare you, assist you on site and follow the case. They cannot promise the case will be dropped, but they help you avoid hasty statements that weigh heavily later.

A criminal law lawyer can answer you in 20 minutes, even before the day of the interview.

The official page is on service-public: audition libre (in French).