France: Paris launches an interministerial roadmap to reduce its dependencies on non

The French government organized an interministerial seminar on Wednesday to accelerate the reduction of its dependence on non-European digital technologies, with the flagship measure being the announcement of the migration of workstations at the Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM) from Windows to Linux.

The event, initiated by the Prime Minister, brought together ministries, public operators, and private entities around a coordinated approach involving the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE), the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI), and the State Purchasing Department (DAE).

Minister of Public Action and Accounts, David Amiel, stated on this occasion that the state can no longer accept that its data, infrastructure, and strategic decisions depend on solutions over which it has no control over the rules, tariffs, developments, and risks, calling to “regain control of our digital destiny.”

Linux is an open-source operating system with freely accessible source code, unlike Windows, owned by American group Microsoft and installed on over a billion devices worldwide in its Windows 11 version alone. The French National Gendarmerie is one of the few large-scale precedents for this transition within the state apparatus. Microsoft declined to comment on the announcement when questioned by American media.

The migration of workstations at DINUM to Linux is the first step in a broader plan. Each ministry, including public operators, will be required to formalize its own reduction plan by autumn 2026, covering seven domains: workstations, collaborative tools, antivirus, artificial intelligence, databases, virtualization, and network equipment.

Among other measures being taken is the migration of 80,000 agents of the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) to the interministerial platform tools, the Tchap messaging system, Visio conferencing tool, and FranceTransfert document transfer platform. The migration of the national health data platform to a sovereign hosting solution is planned by the end of 2026.

These announcements are in line with recent decisions, such as replacing Microsoft Teams with Visio, a tool based on the open-source Jitsi solution. The government also intends to rely on interoperability standards, including Open-Interop and OpenBuro initiatives, to bring together public and private entities around common projects. The “Digital Industrial Meetings”, organized by DINUM in June 2026, are intended to formalize a “public-private alliance for European sovereignty.”

Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Anne Le Hénnaff, stated that “digital sovereignty is not an option, it is a strategic necessity,” adding that France is “setting an example by transitioning to sovereign, interoperable, and sustainable solutions.”

This approach comes amidst increasing tensions between Europe and Washington since the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January 2025. In January, the European Parliament adopted a report requesting the European Commission to identify areas where the EU can reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers. Other member states, including Spain and Germany, have already begun similar transitions. However, observers and experts point out the complexity of such migration projects.