France is trying to move on from Microsoft Windows. The country said it plans to migrate some of its government computers currently running Windows to the open source operating system Linux to further reduce its dependence on US technology.
Linux is an open source operating system that is free to download and use, it has various customized distributions that are tailored and designed for specific use cases or operations.
In a statement, French Minister David Amiel said (translated) that the effort was to “regain control of our digital destiny” by relying less on American tech companies. Amiel said the French government can no longer accept that it no longer has control over its data and digital infrastructure.
The French government did not provide a specific timeline for the switchover or what distributions it was considering. Microsoft did not immediately comment on this news.
This is the latest effort by France to reduce its dependence on US tech giants and use technology and cloud services generated within its borders, a practice known as digital sovereignty, following increasing instability and unpredictability from the Trump administration.
Lawmakers and government leaders across Europe are becoming more aware of the threat they face at home and their overdependence on American technology. In January, the European Parliament voted to adopt a report instructing the European Commission to identify areas where the EU can reduce its dependence on foreign providers.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has stepped up his attacks on world leaders – directly impeaching one and assisting in the assassination of another. He has weaponized sanctions against his critics, including judges at the International Criminal Court, effectively barring them from doing business with American companies. Those who have been sanctioned have reported that their bank accounts have been frozen and access to US technology services has been cut off, as well as they have been blocked from any other US services.
France’s decision to abandon Windows comes months after the government announced it would stop using Microsoft Teams for video conferencing in favor of French-made Visio, a tool based on the open source end-to-end encrypted video meeting tool Jitsi.
The French government said it also plans to migrate its health data platform to a new trusted platform by the end of the year.
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