France is rolling out Visio, a homegrown secure videoconferencing platform, to all government employees by 2027.
The move aims to replace American tools like Teams, Zoom and Webex that currently fragment public administration communications and create security vulnerabilities.
The platform already has 40,000 regular users and is being deployed to 200,000 agents. Major institutions like CNRS are switching over this quarter, with CNRS replacing Zoom for its 34,000 staff and 120,000 affiliated researchers by late March.
Visio runs on French sovereign cloud infrastructure certified by ANSSI, uses AI transcription technology from French startup Pyannote, and will add real-time subtitling from French AI lab Kyutai by summer 2026. Beyond security and digital sovereignty, the switch generates real savings of about 1 million euros per year for every 100,000 users leaving paid license solutions.
Minister David Amiel frames this as essential to protecting sensitive government data and scientific exchanges from exposure to non-European actors while supporting French tech companies.
numerique.gouv.fr/sinformer/es… #France #Greenland #MAGA #DonaldTrump #tarrifs #France #Google #MicrosofTeams
R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •1/3
France's "software bundle" isn't brand-new code—it's a carefully curated stack of existing, mature free and open-source software (FOSS) being integrated and supported at national and municipal levels.
LYON EXAMPLE (June 2025):
Lyon—France's 3rd largest city with 10,000 government employees—is replacing Microsoft's entire stack with proven FOSS:
• Windows → Linux (Ubuntu-based)
• Microsoft Office → OnlyOffice (AGPL license, developed by Latvian firm Ascensio)
• SQL Server → PostgreSQL
• Microsoft 365 → Territoire Numérique Ouvert (TNO) collaboration platform
NATIONAL LEVEL - "La Suite numérique":
France's national digital suite assembles existing open components:
• Tchap: Matrix-based secure messaging (600,000+ public agents using it)
• Grist: Collaborative spreadsheets/databases (Apache 2.0)
• Docs: Real-time collaborative editing (built on BlockNote, developed with Germany)
• Meet: Video conferencing (LiveKit)
• Webinaire: Webinar platform (BigBlueButton)
All hosted in France, all open standards, single sign-on via ProConnect.
Lyon details:
interoperable-europe.ec.europa…
La Suite:
lasuite.numerique.gouv.fr/en
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The municipality of Lyon moves towards open source
Alvaro Vilas GomezR. Scott (i47i)
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •2/3
THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD:
France isn't experimenting—they've been doing this successfully for 20 years. The French Gendarmerie (national police, 100,000+ employees) pioneered this approach:
TIMELINE:
• 2005: Migrated from MS Office to OpenOffice
• 2008: Started Ubuntu desktop deployment (GendBuntu)
• 2014: Majority migration complete
• 2024: 97% of workstations running Linux (103,164 computers!)
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
• €2 million/year in licensing cost savings
• Additional savings from eliminating 4,500 servers
• Total 2004-2008: ~€50 million saved
STRATEGIC INVESTMENT:
In October 2025, France became the FIRST national government to officially partner with the Matrix Foundation—not just using it, but funding its development and participating in strategic decisions. This ensures the protocol evolves to meet European government needs.
So when we say France is "building bundles," they're really packaging, hardening, and supporting mature upstream FOSS (Linux, PostgreSQL, Matrix, etc.) with French hosting, governance, and integration—not reinventing everything from scratch.
GendBuntu: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GendBunt…
Gendarmerie case study: canonical.com/blog/la-gendarme…
#Matrix
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Linux distribution for French police
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •3/3
HOW EASY IS IT TO MOVE FROM MICROSOFT?
TECHNICALLY: Very feasible. Strong FOSS alternatives exist for everything:
Windows → Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora)
Office → OnlyOffice, LibreOffice
Exchange/Teams → Matrix/Element, Nextcloud
SQL Server → PostgreSQL, MariaDB
Benefits: No per-seat licenses, data sovereignty, transparent security, longer hardware life, no forced obsolescence.
THE REAL CHALLENGE: Organizational, not technical
Legacy Windows-only apps & VBA macros (need rewriting or VMs)
User retraining & change management (people lose muscle memory)
Political will & leadership commitment (critical!)
External partner expectations (.docx, Outlook, Teams)
SUCCESS FACTORS (proven by Lyon & Gendarmerie):
• Strong political backing at highest levels
• Adequate budget & realistic timeline
• Comprehensive training programs
• Willingness to maintain hybrid systems during transition
• Local/regional procurement (Lyon: 100% French contractors)
CURRENT MOMENTUM:
Denmark, Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), Netherlands, Italy, and Slovenia are all pursuing similar digital sovereignty initiatives through FOSS
Bottom line: #France proves that digital sovereignty through open source works at massive scale (103K+ workstations). They're not reinventing wheels—they're making smart use of mature, proven technology with European hosting and governance.
Lyon Register article: theregister.com/2025/06/26/lyo…
#OpenSource #DigitalSovereignty #Linux #FOSS #France #Lyon #PublicSector #Ubuntu #Matrix #GendBuntu #Europe #Microsoft
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French city of Lyon ditching Microsoft for open source office and collab tools
Simon Sharwood (The Register)