French national focal point

Since 1996, the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Observatoire français des drogues et des tendances addictives, OFDT) has been entrusted, as an independent body, with the coordination of all drug-monitoring activities in France, and has acted as the national focal point. The OFDT is also consulted for its expertise and methodology to help prepare governmental policies. Since 1999, its areas of activity have included licit substances (alcohol, tobacco and medicines) in addition to illicit drugs and addictive behaviours. Since the 1st of July 2020, the OFDT's field of action has been extended to include gambling and, more broadly, issues relating to behavioural addictions such as those linked to video games.

The OFDT is mainly funded by the Inter-ministerial Mission for Combating Drugs and Addictive Behaviours (Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les drogues et les conduites addictives, MILDECA), an inter-departmental body composed of representatives of different ministries, which is responsible for the overall coordination of activities against drugs and drug dependency in France.

Two newsletters, OFDT's latest (in English) and Lettre Actu (in French), enable partners to be updated electronically on the OFDT’s latest publications and ongoing projects throughout the year.

The French national focal point was EMCDDA certified on 15 March 2023.