Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 19 March 2026.#Criminal proceedings against Ministère public.#Request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d'appel de Paris.#Reference for a preliminary ruling – Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data for the purpose of combating criminal offences – Directive (EU) 2016/680 – Article 10 – Processing of special categories of personal data – Collection of biometric data – Taking of fingerprints and of photographs – Person reasonably suspected on one or more grounds of having committed or attempted to commit a criminal offence – Whether strictly necessary – Discretion – Obligation to state reasons – Refusal of the data subject to consent to the collection of his or her biometric data – National legislation allowing a person to be prosecuted for and convicted of a specific criminal offence penalising such a refusal, even in the absence of any prosecution or conviction in respect of the criminal offence that formed the basis of the envisaged collection of those data.#Case C-371/24.