INSEE Code - Created Under Vichy

Created Under Vichy

Although today this national identification number is used by the Social Security and is present on each person's social security card (carte Vitale), it was originally created under Vichy France under the guise of the Inscription Number to the National Repertory of Identification of People (Numéro d'inscription au répertoire national d'identification des personnes, NIR). The latter was originally to be used as a clandestine military recruitment tool, but at the end served to identify Jews, gypsies and other "undesirable" populations under Vichy's collaborationist conceptions. The first figure of the NIR would be 1 for a male European, 2 for a female European, 3 for a male Muslim, 4 for a female Muslim, 5 for a male Jew, 6 for a female Jew, 7 for a male foreigner, 8 for a female foreigner. 9 and 0 were reserved for persons of undetermined racial status.

The Demographic Service had been created in 1940 in order to replace the military recruitment office prohibited by the June 1940 Armistice with Nazi Germany. On October 11, 1941, the Demographic Service absorbed the former General Statistics of France (SGF, created in 1833). The new organization was called the SNS or National Statistics Service (Service national des Statistiques).