The French national identity card ( or CNI) is an official identity document consisting of an electronic ID-1 card bearing a photograph, name and address. While the identity card is non-compulsory, all persons must possess some form of valid government-issued identity documentation. Identity cards, valid for a period of 10 years, are issued by the local préfecture, sous-préfecture, mairie (in France) or in French consulates (abroad) free of charge. A fingerprint of the holder is taken, which is stored in paper files and which can only be accessed by a judge in closely defined circumstances. A central database duplicates the information on the card, but strict laws limit access to the information and prevent it being linked to other databases or records. The cards may be used to verify identity and nationality and may also be used as a travel document within Europe (except Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and United Kingdom) as well as French overseas territories, Anguilla, Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, Dominica (max 14 days), Montserrat, Saint Lucia and on organized tours to Tunisia instead of a French passport. The cards are widely used for other purposes — for example, when opening a bank account, or when making a payment by cheque. History While passports have been issued in France, under one form or another, since the Middle Ages, the identity card is a 20th-century innovation. The first ID was issued to foreigners in residence in France in 1917, in order to control the foreign population in a time of war and spy scare. The first card for Frenchmen was created by the Police Prefect of the Seine département, then the Paris local authority, in 1921. This carte d'identité des Français was a non-compulsory ID document and was only issued in the Paris region. Following defeat in the Battle of France, the Vichy government created a new national identity card under the law of October 27, 1940. This new ID was compulsory for every French person over the age of 16. A central record was also instituted. From 1942, French Jews had the word "Jew" added to their card in red, which helped the Vichy authorities identify 76,000 for deportation as part of the Holocaust. Under the decree 55-1397 of October 22, 1955 a revised non-compulsory card, the carte nationale d'identité (CNI) was introduced, and the central records abandoned. With the introduction of lamination in 1988 it was renamed the carte