ABSTRACT
Although the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within French administrations under the principle of adaptability (or mutability) of public services seems to be accepted without major difficulty by most of the population, it reactivates the debate on the digital divide and the social exclusion of non-users of the internet. In France, one person on five does not have a computer and one on four does not have a smartphone; retired people seem to have been particularly marginalised. We propose a reflection on the (non-)use of tele-services by older people and on the risks of non-use of a right as a result of digitalisation. The introduction of digital technology in relations with public administrations forces individuals to adapt their practices to the constraints imposed by tele-services. While ‘agile’ individuals with sufficient capital consider digitalisation as facilitating their access to rights and services, those in the greatest difficulty are forced to find external support. This societal change creates difficulties for new groups by depriving them of their administrative autonomy and exposing them to an unprecedented risk of non-use, thereby questioning one of the three founding principles of French public services: equality of access to public services.
