France has opted, in its draft designation of market surveillance authorities, for a decentralised market surveillance organisation based on authorities already identified by operators, with coordination led by the Ministry of the Economy. Despite the publication of the draft designation of MSAs, progress in the implementation of the EU AI Act in France remains unclear and appears significantly delayed.

This study seeks to provide an overview of current progress in the designation of national competent authorities, and to analyse how national governance frameworks are being developed. The study shows that one week prior to the deadline, the majority of member states were behind schedule. A few draft governance frameworks, some of them unofficial, were announced. These present a centralised architecture for notifying authorities, but a fragmented one for market surveillance, with most authorities already identified.