They wear neither white coats nor lawyer robes. However, every day, thousands of French people confide in them their doubts, their fragilities, their life decisions. Practitioners of the divinatory arts occupy a unique place in the social landscape: that of interlocutors of the intimate. But one question remains, simple and essential: to whom do we really entrust our secrets?
Today, these professionals are administratively classified under the APE code 9609Z, entitled: Other personal services not elsewhere classified. A catch-all category where unrelated activities coexist. A classification which reflects neither the nature of the relationship established with the public, nor the responsibility it implies.
Because when a citizen talks about their financial difficulties, their separation, their health, their life choices, they expose themselves. He gains confidence. This trust should be based on a fundamental principle: the clear identification of the professional. However, in many cases, some operate under a pseudonym, without obvious visibility of their legal identity or their location. Privacy is legitimate. But can it take precedence over the consumer’s right to know who they are talking to?
In all professions involving listening and confidentiality, medicine, psychology, counseling, the identity of the professional is known. It incurs responsibility. It establishes credibility. It is in this context that the Professional Union of Practitioners of Divinatory Arts, supported by the National Institute of Divinatory Arts, recently contacted the Prime Minister as well as the ministries concerned, in particular the Ministry of Labor, in order to open an institutional reflection on the administrative recognition of the profession. Among the requests made is the creation of an APE code specific to practitioners of divinatory arts, distinct from 9609Z, as well as as a clear and identifiable administrative identification. The objective is simple: to get out of the way, distinguish responsible professionals from anonymous operators and guarantee the public a framework of transparency. The approach aims neither to create a privilege nor to fuel a controversy. It is part of a logic of structuring and accountability. Taking on an activity that receives the public implies accepting the minimum requirements of traceability and responsibility. The debate is not about belief. It concerns supervision. The divinatory arts exist. They respond to a real social demand. The question that arises today is institutional: does the State wish to continue to classify this activity in an indistinct category or support its clarification? Basically, the issue goes beyond administrative nomenclature. It touches on a universal principle: when we receive a confidence from a citizen, we must be able to answer for it. And it is precisely to this requirement that the SPPAD is now asking for a response. THE SPPAD OFFICE
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