France is trying to move on from Microsoft Windows. The country he said he plans to move some from its government computers currently running Windows to the open source Linux operating system to further reduce its reliance on American technology.
Linux is an open source operating system that is free to download and use, with various custom distributions that are tailored and designed for specific use cases or functions.
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 technology companies. Amiel said the French government can no longer accept that it is not in control of its data and digital infrastructure.
The French government did not provide a specific timetable for the transition or which distributions it was considering. The transition will begin with computers at the French government’s digital office, DINUM. When reached by TechCrunch, a Microsoft representative would not comment on the news.
This is France’s latest attempt to reduce its reliance on US tech giants and use technology and cloud services originating from its borders, known as digital sovereignty, after the increasingly volatile and unpredictable side of the Trump administration.
Lawmakers and government leaders across Europe are increasingly aware of the looming threat they face at home and their over-reliance on American technology. In January, the European Parliament voted to approve a report instructing the European Commission to identify areas where the EU can reduce its reliance on foreign providers.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has stepped up his attacks on world leaders – directly capturing one and helping the killing of another. He has also imposed sanctions on his critics, who include judges at the International Criminal Court, effectively barring them from doing business with American companies. Those who have been sanctioned have reported closing their bank accounts and terminating access to US technology services, as well as being blocked from any other US service.
France’s decision to abandon Windows comes months after the government announced it would stop using Microsoft Teams for video conferencing in favor of France’s Visio, a tool based on the open-source encrypted video conferencing tool Jitsi.
The French government said it also plans to transfer its health data platform to a new trusted platform by the end of the year.
