Real-life caseAugust 2026
Scribe software, French national police
In late 2015, the French national police launched Scribe, software for investigators to draft their procedural records. The project started with no feasibility study and no set budget. The project leads had no experience of IT projects.
The steering team shrank to a single person for more than a year, and the provider took over. Stuck at 36% completion in mid-2021, the project was abandoned.
In August 2026, the Cour des comptes (French Court of Audit) put the loss to the State at 30.21 million euros and convicted six former officials. According to the article, investigators lost around 15 million hours between 2022 and 2026.
The project was public and very large. Its causes, however, have nothing to do with size: a need never defined, oversight too thin, a provider left alone at the controls.
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