France to ditch US platforms Microsoft Teams, Zoom for ‘sovereign platform’ citing security concerns
France announced that it will roll out the Visio platform across all government departments by 2027.
France will replace the American platforms Microsoft Teams and Zoom with its own domestically developed video conferencing platform, which will be used in all government departments by 2027, the country announced on Monday.
The move is part of France's strategy to stop using foreign software vendors, especially those from the United States, and regain control over critical digital infrastructure. It comes at a crucial moment as France, like Europe, reaches a turning point regarding digital sovereignty.
“The aim is to end the use of non-European solutions and guarantee the security and confidentiality of public electronic communications by relying on a powerful and sovereign tool,” said David Amiel, minister for the civil service and state reform.
On Monday, the government announced it will instead be using the French-made videoconference platform Visio. The platform has been in testing for a year and has around 40,000 users.
What is Visio?
Visio is part of France's Suite Numérique plan, a digital ecosystem of sovereign tools designed to replace the use of US online services such as Gmail and Slack. These tools are for civil servants and not for public or private company use
The platform also has an artificial intelligence-powered meeting transcript and speaker diarization feature, using the technology of the French start-up Pyannote.
Viso is also hosted on the French company Outscale’s sovereign cloud infrastructure, which is a subsidiary of French software company Dassault Systèmes.
The French government said that switching to Visio could cut licensing costs and save as much as €1 million per year for every 100,000 users.
The move also comes as Europe has questioned its overreliance on US information technology (IT) infrastructure following US cloud outages last year.
“This strategy highlights France's commitment to digital sovereignty amid rising geopolitical tensions and fears of foreign surveillance or service disruptions,” Amiel said
FAKE NEWS
‘A new battleground’: France takes its fight against disinformation online
Determined to push back against online falsehoods, the French state is turning to facts, humour and a new digital voice to challenge misleading narratives wherever they spread.
Issued on: 24/01/2026 - RFI
France has set up a new digital rapid-response unit – titled “French Response” – to push back against what it sees as a rising tide of online disinformation, and it wasted little time making its presence felt.
When the US secretary of state Marco Rubio took a swipe at European culture on X this week, the English-language account run by the French foreign ministry jumped in almost immediately.
“Our culture,” it replied, posting a neatly laid-out table comparing quality-of-life indicators.
On life expectancy, student debt and several other measures, the European Union came out comfortably ahead of the United States
The post was pointed, data-driven and with a hint of dry humour. The recently launched account is France’s latest attempt to defend itself in what officials describe as an increasingly hostile online information environment, where false or misleading claims spread at speed.
French foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said information had become “a new battleground”.
“We’re choosing to occupy the space by turning up the volume and raising our voice,” he explained. The strategy appears to be working, at least in terms of reach.
The account has already attracted around 100,000 followers – a modest figure next to X owner Elon Musk’s more than 230 million, but significant for a government-run feed.
Staffed by a small team of diplomats, former journalists and fact-checkers, French Response has been particularly active this week as political and business leaders gathered for the World Economic Forum in Davos.
It has taken aim at posts it considers misleading from Russian and US accounts, and has even found itself rebutting claims linked to the White House under President Donald Trump.
Between wit and statecraft
That included a moment of high-profile Franco-American sparring.
On Tuesday, French president Emmanuel Macron appeared in Davos wearing aviator sunglasses, which his team later said were the result of a burst blood vessel in his eye.
Macron used the occasion to say France did not like “bullies”, a remark widely interpreted as aimed at Trump.
The next day, newspapers splashed images of Macron in shades across their front pages, with commentators likening him to Maverick from Top Gun.
French Response revelled in the attention. “When the world does your French response for you,” it posted, shortly after Trump mocked Macron’s sunglasses online.
Not all of the account’s interventions have been so light-hearted.
When a Russian account falsely claimed Macron had left Davos early to avoid Trump – in reality, the French leader had never planned to be there on the same day – the reply was swift and cutting: “Another impeccably planned French leave.”
(with newswires)
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