The French government is planning to gradually wean itself off dependence on Microsoft's Windows operating system and instead use the open source operating system Linux on some government computers to reduce its dependence on technology and supplies from U.S. technology companies.
According to news released on the official website of the French Government Digital Affairs, the government will migrate some public service systems currently running Windows to Linux. The relevant work will first be started in the computer system of the French Government Digital Affairs Agency (DINUM), and then gradually expanded to other departments. The official has not announced a specific migration timetable, nor has it stated which Linux distribution will be used.
Linux is an open source operating system that anyone can download and use for free, and customize a distribution business version suitable for specific scenarios and needs based on its source code. The French government's move is seen as the latest step in its strategy to promote "digital sovereignty", with the goal of reducing its reliance on foreign countries, especially U.S. technology giants, for critical digital infrastructure.
David Amiel, the French minister in charge of related work, said in a statement (translated) that this reform aims to "regain control of our digital destiny" and no longer accept the status quo in which the country's critical data and digital infrastructure are highly controlled by foreign companies. He stressed that the French government can no longer tolerate a lack of autonomy in data control and digital underlying capabilities. As of press time, Microsoft has not commented on the news.
This operating system migration takes place within a larger European context: In the face of geopolitical uncertainty and increasing changes in U.S. policies, European countries are re-examining their overreliance on U.S. technology and cloud services. In January, the European Parliament voted to adopt a report asking the European Commission to identify and promote key areas to reduce reliance on non-EU suppliers.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, his radical approach to foreign policy and sanctions tools has aroused strong concern and vigilance among European political circles. The Trump administration has not only escalated its tough actions against some national leaders in foreign relations - including "capturing" one head of state and assisting in the murder of another leader - but has also frequently used sanctions, viewing them as a political weapon against critics. The targets of sanctions include some judges of the International Criminal Court. These people have been cut off from transactions with American companies, their bank accounts have been closed, they cannot use a variety of American technology services, and they are also prohibited from accessing services provided by other American companies.
In this context, France believes that there is a structural risk of sanctions or service interruption if it continues to base its key office systems, communications and cloud platforms on US companies. Therefore, reducing the content of American technology and supporting local or open source solutions is gradually becoming the consensus of French and wider European policymakers.
In fact, this is not the first time France has “de-Americanized” key digital tools. Just a few months ago, the French government announced that it would stop using Microsoft Teams as its official video conferencing tool and instead use the Visio system developed by French companies and based on the open source end-to-end encrypted video conferencing project Jitsi. In addition, the French government also plans to migrate the national medical and health data platform to a new "trusted platform" before the end of this year to further ensure the security and controllability of the country's sensitive data.
Against the backdrop of rising cybersecurity risks, geopolitical tensions, and the deepening trend of “weaponization” of digital infrastructure, France’s push to migrate from Windows to Linux is seen as part of its digital sovereignty strategy. It is also an important attempt by the European government system to proactively reduce technology lock-in and enhance its own options.