nationale d’identité sécurisée (CNIS) (secure national identity card). In 1995 the cards were made machine-readable. It became free in 1998. On 15 March 2021 a new electronic model has been released. Use Identification document The French national identity card can be used as an identification document in France in situations such as opening a bank account, identifying oneself to government agencies, proving one's identity and regular immigration status to a law enforcement official etc. Similarly, French citizens exercising their right to free movement in another EU/EEA member state or Switzerland are entitled to use their French national identity card as an identification document when dealing not just with government authorities, but also with private sector service providers. For example, if a supermarket in Ireland refuses to accept a French national identity card as proof of age when a French citizen attempts to purchase an age-restricted product, and insists on the production of an Irish passport, driving license or other identity document, the supermarket would, in effect, be discriminating against this individual on this basis of his/her nationality in the provision of a service, thereby contravening the prohibition in Art 20(2) of Directive 2006/123/EC of discriminatory treatment relating to the nationality of a service recipient in the conditions of access to a service which are made available to the public at large by a service provider. In practice, the ID card can often be used for various identification purposes worldwide, such as for age verification in bars or checking in at hotels. Travel document The French national identity card can be used as a travel document (instead of a French passport) to/from the following countries: All countries in Europe except Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and United Kingdom French overseas territories (max 24 hours, 72 hours for St Martin residents) (max 14 days) (a passport photo must be supplied to the border authorities upon entry) (only when on a package tour) Previously, the , , , , , and the permitted French citizens to travel to their countries on the strength of a French national identity card alone. does not accept French ID cards. Prior to 1 January 2013, unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 who travelled outside metropolitan France using their French national identity cards were required to obtain an autorisation de sortie du territoire (AST). In order to obtain an AST, one of the minor's legal ascendant(s) had to visit