French Domain Registrar Afnic Launches Public Consultation Process

The registry operator of France's country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .fr, Afnic, has announced the launch of two public consultation processes aimed at preventing DNS abuse.

Afnic manages not only .fr domain registrations but also the domain names of some of France's overseas territories. These regions are the following:

• .re (Réunion)
• .pm (Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
• .wf (Wallis and Futuna)
• .yt (Mayotte)

What Are the Consultation Topics?

The public consultations launched by Afnic cover two important interlinked issues:

1. Verification processes for domain registrants
2. Enforcement against registrants who do not fully comply with the rules

Although the .fr ccTLD follows a relatively open registration policy, it is subject to certain geographic restrictions. To register a .fr domain name, the applicant must be a resident of the European Union.

Consultation Process and Calendar

• Start Date: October 16, 2023
• End Date: November 24, 2023

These consultations are considered an important step towards enhancing the security and integrity of .fr and related domains. Stakeholders wishing to participate and submit comments can visit Afnic’s official resources.