Ex officio members
Five representatives of the State are ex officio members:

• the director general of heritage and architecture at the Ministry of Culture
• a representative of the Directorate General of Heritage and Architecture at the Ministry of Culture
• a representative of the general delegation for transmission, territories and cultural democracy at the Ministry of Culture
• the Director General of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Research, Higher Education and Innovation
• the Director General of Higher Education and Professional Integration at the Ministry of Research, Higher Education and Innovation

The appointed members
Fifteen qualified individuals are appointed for four years because of their scientific expertise in archaeology:

• Anne Lehoërff, University Professor, CY Cergy Paris Université, Vice-President
• Laure Barthet, heritage curator, director of the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse
• Marie Besse, university professor, head of the laboratory of prehistoric and anthropological archaeology, University of Geneva
• Fabien Blanc-Garidel, Chief Curator of Heritage, Head of Archaeology Department Nice Côte d'Azur
• Sébastien Bully, CNRS researcher, deputy director of UMR 6298 Artehis, Dijon
• Sophie Casadebaig, chief curator of heritage, head of the departmental archaeological service of Morbihan
• Diane Dusseaux, heritage curator, director of the archaeological site of Lattara - musée Henri Prades, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
• Marie-Agnès Gaidon-Bunuel, General Curator of Heritage, Deputy Regional Curator of Archaeology at the Drac Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
• Vincent Guichard, Director General of the European Archaeological Centre of Mont Beuvray, Glux-en-Glenne
• Olivier Lemercier, University Professor, Université Paul Valéry-Montpellier 3
• Véronique Matterne, research director at the CNRS, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris
• François Meylan, director of the Mont Beuvray agency, Archeodunum company
• Clément Paris, Operations Manager, Inrap Hauts-de-France
• Marie-Cécile Truc, research engineer at Inrap Grand-Est-Nord, Reims
• Jonathan Vidal, research engineer, Regional Department of Archaeology of Drac Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Elected members
Twelve members are elected, for four years, from among them, by the territorial archaeological research commissions (CTRA):

• Stéphane Ardouin, Senior Conservation Attaché, Archaeological Service of the City of Lyon, member of the CTRA Sud-Ouest
• Benoît Bérard, university professor, University of the West Indies, member of the CTRA Outre-Mer
• Gaël Brkojewitsch, heritage conservation attaché, preventive archaeology pole of Metz Métropole, member of the CTRA Ouest
• Morgane Dachary, Research Engineer, Regional Archaeological Service of Drac Nouvelle-Aquitaine, member of the CTRA Sud-Est
• Hervé Delhoofs, archaeologist, Eveha society, member of the CTRA Sud-Ouest
• Sylvie Faravel, lecturer, University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, member of CTRA Ouest
• Christophe Gilabert, Heritage Curator, Regional Archaeological Service of the Drac Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, member of the CTRA Centre-Nord
• Jean-François Goret, Conservation Attaché, Department of History of Architecture and Archaeology of the City of Paris, member of the CTRA Sud-Est
• Séverine Hurard, research engineer at Inrap Île-de-France, member of CTRA Outre-Mer
• Jenny Kaurin, Heritage Curator, Regional Archaeological Service of the Drac Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, member of the CTRA Centre-Nord
• Jean-Marie Laruaz, Heritage Conservation Attaché, Department of Archaeology of the Indre-et-Loire County Council, member of the CTRA Est
• Stéfan Tzortzis, Heritage Curator, Regional Archaeological Service of the Drac Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, member of the CTRA Sud-Est

Since its last renewal, the CNRA’s Submarine Operations Commission consists of:

Two ex officio members:

• the director general of heritage and architecture at the Ministry of Culture
• Anne Lehoërff, University Professor, CY Cergy Paris Université, Vice-President of the CNRA

Four qualified personalities:

• Fabien Blanc-Garidel, Chief Curator of Heritage, Head of Archaeology Department Nice Côte d'Azur
• Laure Barthet, heritage curator, director of the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse
• Benoît Devillers, lecturer in physical geography, University of Montpellier III
• Sabrina Marlier, conservation attaché, Musée départemental Arles Antique

Five elected members of the Territorial Archaeological Research Commissions (CTRA) with a maritime façade:

• Benoît Bérard, university professor, University of the West Indies, member of the CTRA Outre-Mer
• Sylvie Faravel, lecturer, University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, member of CTRA Ouest
• Thibault Lachenal, CNRS researcher, UMR 5140 - Archaeology of Mediterranean Societies, member of the CTRA Centre-Nord
• Julien Ollivier, study engineer, regional archaeological service of Drac Occitanie, member of the CTRA Sud-Est
• Catherine Rigeade, Operations and Research Officer, Inrap Méditerranée, member of CTRA Sud-Ouest

The Council continued its work of monitoring and evaluating the scientific activity of preventive archaeology operators. It took note of 7 five-year reviews of the authorized archaeological services and also issued opinions:

• on 1 change of legal status of an authorised operator
• on 3 requests for extension of the authorisation chronological fields
• on 6 files relating to substantial changes affecting the conditions under which authorisations were issued
• on 1 request for lifting of partial temporary suspension of an authorisation

Finally, he assessed 3 applications for renewal for five years of approvals of operators of preventive archaeology.

The updating of the national programming of archaeological research has been a focus of the Council until autumn 2023. This work has been enriched by the presentation of the scientific programming perspectives of Inrap, now established in connection with the axes of the national programming of the Ministry of Culture.
A scientific committee and several working groups have been set up to design and organize the «Assises scientifiques de la recherche archéologique en France et à l'Étranger» on 6 and 7 June 2023. The objective of these two days, co-organized with the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres and hosted in the auditorium of the Institut de France, was to share widely with the archaeologist community the national programming project a few months before its completion. The videos of the conferences and thematic round tables that animated these days are available on the website of theAcademy of Inscriptions and Belles-lettres, pending publication of the acts.
The Council also worked, in plenary session and in working groups, on various topics including the issue of training in archaeology. 

The Council regularly monitored the scientific activity of preventive archaeology operators. It examined the requests for authorisation made by the last three local authorities still covered by the accreditation system. Thus, in June 2022, all the archaeological services of the territorial collectivities passed under the regime of the habilitation. In parallel, the CNRA assessed the first four five-year assessments of the archaeological services authorized in 2017. It also issued opinions:

• on 3 requests for extension of authorisations already granted
• of 13 files involving substantial changes
• on 1 request for lifting of partial temporary suspension of an authorisation

Finally, he examined two applications for renewal of five-year approvals for preventive archaeology operators. 
The updating of the national archaeological research programme was the main subject of the Council’s work. He has also worked on various themes including:

• chronological and thematic scientific summaries of 2017-2021 quadrennial reviews of the territorial commissions for archaeological research (CTRA)
• the conclusions of the working group on protocols for sampling and analysis of human bone and the preservation of samples (PAOHCE)
• the National Archaeological Data and Sample Bank (BeDNA)
• the educational sheets on the selective conservation of movable archaeological property
• the proposed establishment of a working group on iron archaeological furniture

The Council issued three opinions:

• CNRA opinion on archaeological looting and recreational remote sensing (March 2022)
• CNRA Notice on Human Bone Collection, Analysis and Sample Retention (April 2022)
• CNRA opinion on the draft national archeogenic data and sample bank (April 2022)

In addition, a news item was made on the archaeological monitoring carried out by the regional archaeological service of Île-de-France in the Notre-Dame cathedral of Paris and on the preventive excavation conducted by Inrap at the crossing of the transept of the building.
Finally, the last plenary session was an opportunity to reflect on the project «Scientific Assizes of Archaeology» envisaged in June 2023.

CNRA Thematic Retreat on June 9, 2022
Opened by Paul Salmona, director of the Museum of Art and History of Judaism, as well as Jean-François Hébert, director general of heritage and architecture, this day allowed to exchange, from selected cases, on the evolution of the archaeological approach to the challenges of climate and environmental change. The following topics were discussed:

• the question of archaeological remains affected in 2020 in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region by storm Alex
• environmental and archaeological issues in mountain and glacier contexts
• the interest of the study of speleothems in archaeological context
• environmental issues in underground environments
• the role of regional archaeological services in the face of changes in mountain environments
• the preservation of palafittes and other archaeological remains of the peri-alpine lakes in the face of global change
• the preservation of coastal maritime heritage in the face of environmental challenges
• the question of the temporalities of coastal erosion in the Lesser Antilles (cyclones, sea level rise) and their consequences in terms of heritage management
• environmental issues and those of the archaeology of life

These topics were then fully integrated into the new national programming of archaeological research