Philippe Fontaine
Data Scientist
Philippe Fontaine
Data scientist specializing in public policy evaluation, fraud detection and public finance, working with large administrative datasets to support evidence-based decision-making.
About Me
I am a data scientist with a strong background in statistics, economics and computer science, working for public institutions. My work focuses on putting data at the service of public decision-making: evaluating public policies, analysing public finances and detecting fraud, always with a clear and documented methodology.
After graduating from Ensai with a focus on statistics, economics, and computer science, I worked at Insee and then at the French Treasury, where I was responsible for corporate tax forecasting and contributed to international tax reforms. I later joined the General Inspectorate of Finance as a data scientist, working on fraud detection, public policy evaluation and large-scale administrative data (health, tax, public finances). I am now a data scientist at the French Senate, providing quantitative support for evaluation and legislative work on economic, social and budgetary topics.
Passionate about cybersecurity and social psychology, I also develop R Shiny applications and open-source tools. Across all these projects, I pay particular attention to confidentiality, ethics and compliance with data protection regulations (including GDPR).
I am especially interested in roles where data science supports the public interest: evaluation units, financial and economic directorates, audit and inspection bodies, regulatory or supervisory authorities, and parliamentary or independent institutions.
- Location Paris, France
- E-mail philippe.fontaine.ds@proton.me
- Phone Available upon request
- Availability Open to discussion
What I Do
Resume
Experience
2025 - Present
French SenateData Scientist
Quantitative support for evaluation and oversight of government action (data analysis, impact assessments, briefing notes) and contribution to legislative work through quantitative analyses and simulations on economic, social and budgetary topics. The analyses feed into parliamentary reports and support committees in their oversight and legislative work.
2021 - 2025
General Inspectorate of FinanceData Scientist
Fraud detection (energy transition schemes, international trade), development of a rule engine and a large price database from open sources, and no-code tools for business teams. Evaluation of the national healthcare strategy (health insurance data, microsimulation) and development of Shiny applications for HR, mission tracking, GDPR compliance and an interactive dashboard of government revenues, used in spending reviews and evaluation exercises.
2018 - 2021
French TreasuryDeputy Head - Corporate Taxes
Corporate tax studies and impact assessments, major contribution to evaluations and negotiations on the introduction of a global minimum tax promoted by the OECD (BEPS project). Modernisation and automation of the production of general government accounts, improving timeliness, consistency and reproducibility of the figures used for policy and budget discussions.
2015 - 2018
InseeEstimation of investment and taxation
Produced quarterly statistics on investment and taxes using econometric models and short-term indicators. Responsible for tax forecasts and monitoring economic trends for Insee's economic outlook, in close coordination with national accounts and forecasting teams.
Education
2019
University of RennesMaster's degree, Evaluation and Public Decisions
Expertise in assessing public policies and making data-driven decisions to support strategic planning, spending reviews and governance in the public sector.
2013 - 2015
ENSAI - National School for Statistics and Information AnalysisInsee statistician
Training in statistical modelling, quantitative economics, national accounts and computer science for public statistics and public policy analysis.
2011 - 2013
Lycée Alphonse Daudet – NîmesPreparatory classes MPSI / MP
Preparation for competitive entrance examinations to engineering and graduate schools (mathematics and physics).
Computer Science Skills
R
Python
Shiny
SAS
SQL
HTML / JS (React)
Git / Docker / Kubernetes
Other Skills
Fraud detection
Corporate taxes
Public policies
Cybersecurity
OSINT
Social engineering
Soft Skills
- Critical thinking
- Cross-disciplinary thinking
- Problem-solving
- Adversarial thinking
- Persuasion
- Resilience
Portfolio
ThesisR
Interactive analysis of theses defended in France since 1985 (fields, institutions, dynamics over time). Exploratory work on signals and profiles by field based on public data sources, designed to illustrate how large textual and bibliographic datasets can be used for strategic analysis.CIR
Visualization of the main characteristics of Republican integration contracts, to support analysis of trajectories and policies related to integration.Report explorer
Exploration of consumer reports submitted via the SignalConso platform, with filters and visualizations designed to help identify recurring issues and patterns.VulnGovTracker
(Access on request) Monitoring of public agents’ exposure to known data breaches and email leaks using the Have I Been Pwned dataset, to support awareness-raising and reduction of cybersecurity risks in public organisations.Publications
Reports for the French Senate
- 2025 Additional construction costs linked to regulatory standards
- 2025 Enforcing sentences: 20 proposals to improve enforcement and give meaning to criminal sanctions
- 2025 Transparency and evaluation of state aid to businesses: a democratic demand and a key to economic efficiency
- 2025 Changes in the financing of efforts to combat violence against women
- 2025 Mental health and psychiatry: no "great national cause" without substantial resources
- 2025 25 proposals to give municipal police the tools to tackle everyday insecurity
- 2025 Employment of older workers: a key to safeguarding the pay-as-you-go pension system?
- 2025 Tackling the high cost of living in the overseas territories: sticking plasters or real remedies?
Other reports (IGF and partners)
- 2024 Spending review on long-term conditions: towards a more efficient and equitable scheme
- 2023 Territorial allocation of the compensation for the CVAE (value-added contribution of businesses)
- 2023 Cross-cutting methodological mission on the State's fields of intervention and public policy instruments
- 2022 Schooling of pupils with disabilities
- 2022 Mission on the management of nursing homes (EHPAD) in the Orpea group
- 2021 Evaluation committee for the France Relance recovery plan
- 2021 Evaluation committee for the reforms of capital taxation
- 2020 New rules for the international taxation of corporations: assessment of the economic effects for France