LUXEMBURG, May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP), a world leading provider of secure card-based solutions, has been selected by G.I.E. SESAM-Vitale as one of the main suppliers to issue the new generation of French patient e-Healthcare cards, known as "Vitale 2".

These smart cards will replace the existing ones, rolled out in 1998. SESAM-Vitale is one of the largest e-Healthcare schemes, processing over 80 million electronic claims per month. The new smart cards will further enhance the possibilities of the system, in term of data processing and secure applications.

The scope of the contract includes the supply of smart cards, graphical and electrical personalization and mailing services to million of end users in France. Gemplus will fulfil the order through its local operations in France, in particular its personalization site in Gemenos, near Marseille.

The global market for the personalized Vitale 2 cards represents a total of 50 million units divided between 3 suppliers. The contract calls for the supply of a minimum of 8 million cards over two years, with possible extension over two more years.

"Gemplus has a long established presence in the French healthcare market on Patient smart cards, Personalization services, European Healthcare cards and Healthcare readers", stated Jacques Seneca, President Gemplus, Europe Middle East & Africa. "Local card production and personalization services linked with worldwide e-healthcare smart card and personalization experience helped us meet GIE SESAM-Vitale's requirements in this new program."

This new contract confirms the strong position of Gemplus in the e-Healthcare market, and clearly demonstrates that Gemplus is a partner of choice to deploy nationwide e-healthcare schemes.

Gemplus's experience in healthcare stretches back to 1998, when it began supplying France's SESAM-Vitale system with Vitale 1 patient cards, personalization services and smart card readers. Gemplus has taken part in most projects to date, including Belgium, Germany, Slovenia and China. Products and services supplied include tens of millions of smart cards, readers, software, and personalization, mailing and consulting services. Recently, Gemplus announced the delivery of 3.7 million smart healthcare cards to the Mexican government's social security organizations

About Gemplus

Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is a world leading player in the secure card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold over 5.5 billion smart cards.

Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WiFi, Pay-TV, e-government, and access control.

Gemplus' revenue in 2005 was 939 million Euros. http://www.gemplus.com/ For more information: Renaud Laffont-Leenhardt Communication Manager +33-(0)4-42-36-54-53 renaud.laffont-leenhardt@gemplus.com Frederic Boullard Edelman PR Tel: +33-(0)1-56-69-75-93 Frederic.boullard@edelman.com

(c)2006 Gemplus. All rights reserved. Gemplus, the Gemplus logo, are trademarks and service marks of Gemplus S.A. and are registered in certain countries. All other trademarks and service marks, whether registered or not in specific countries, are the property of their respective owners.

Some of the statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activities, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ materially. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the forward-looking statements contained in this release include, but are not limited to: trends in wireless communication and mobile commerce markets; our ability to develop new technology, and the effects of competing technologies developed and expected intense competition generally in our main markets; profitability of our expansion strategy; challenges to or loss of our intellectual property rights; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships in our major businesses; our ability to develop and take advantage of new software and services; and the effect of future acquisitions and investments on our share price. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of this release. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after this date to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated results.

CONTACT: For more information: Renaud Laffont-Leenhardt, Communication
Manager, +33-(0)4-42-36-54-53, renaud.laffont-leenhardt@gemplus.com. Frederic
Boullard, Edelman PR, Tel: +33-(0)1-56-69-75-93,
Frederic.boullard@edelman.com