France Latest EU Country to Ditch US Tech

Europe Looks for Homegrown and Open-Source Alternatives David Meyer • January 27, 2026

France has decided to boot U.S.-made videoconferencing services out of its public sector, to be replaced by a homegrown alternative called Visio.

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It's the latest episode in an accelerating push for technological "sovereignty" across the continent, fueled by the aggressive foreign and trade policies of the second Trump administration in United States. Open-source software is integral to the effort, playing out within international bodies as well as national and local governments.

Visio, not to be confused with Microsoft's similarly-named diagramming software, was developed by the French government's Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs. A pilot deployment began a year ago and it has already amassed 40,000 users across 15 ministries and public-sector bodies, although many still use ...