France to move desktops to Linux

France is preparing to replace Windows on government desktops with Linux as part of a state plan to cut dependence on non-European software. (numerique.gouv.fr) The shift was announced this week by the Interministerial Digital Directorate, known as DINUM, in a press release on reducing France’s “extra-European” digital dependencies. The document says each ministry, including public operators, must draw up its own action plan by autumn 2026. (numerique.gouv.fr) Those ministry plans are supposed to cover desktops, collaboration tools, antivirus, artificial intelligence, databases, virtualization and network equipment. France’s National Cybersecurity Agency, known as ANSSI, is part of the effort alongside DINUM, the Directorate General for Enterprises and the state procurement office. (numerique.gouv.fr; economie.gouv.fr) In plain terms, Linux is an operating system, the base software that runs a computer, like Windows or macOS. France is not just swapping one brand for another; it is trying to move core workplace tools under software it can inspect, adapt and host with fewer foreign dependencies. (cyber.gouv.fr; code.gouv.fr) That fits a broader French policy of “digital sovereignty,” a term the government uses for keeping more control over critical technology, data and procurement. ANSSI says open-source software plays an essential role in securing software supply chains, protecting information systems and improving resilience. (numerique.gouv.fr; cyber.gouv.fr) The desktop move is only one piece of the program. In the same announcement, the government pointed to a recent decision by the National Health Insurance Fund to move 80,000 staff to state-backed tools including Tchap for messaging, Visio for video meetings and FranceTransfert for file sharing. (economie.gouv.fr) France has been building those alternatives for several years. DINUM’s open-source and digital commons unit says it works with administrations to expand the use of free and open-source software, publish code and share software across agencies. (code.gouv.fr) The government has also been assembling a broader office stack under “La Suite numérique,” a set of open-source workplace services for public employees. Beta.gouv.fr describes it as a sovereign alternative to proprietary collaboration suites still widely used by French civil servants. (beta.gouv.fr; lesbases.anct.gouv.fr) Officials have not yet named the Linux distribution that ministries will use, and the public documents do not set a single nationwide cutover date for every desktop. What exists now is a formal state directive: ministries must map their exits from foreign software, and Windows is explicitly on that list. (numerique.gouv.fr; news18.com) That makes the next milestone less about a one-day switch than a procurement and deployment fight inside the French state. By autumn 2026, each ministry is supposed to show how it plans to turn the sovereignty push into working desktops, software and contracts. (numerique.gouv.fr)