There is an ocean between the United States and Europe, but the latter would really like to put even more distance between the two. In the latest instance of a European nation trying to rid itself of its reliance on America (probably a smart bet at this point), France announced that it will move some of its government systems off of Windows and onto Linux.<\/p>\n
Details on the change are a bit sparse, but TechCrunch reports<\/a>\u00a0that it will start with machines used in France\u2019s Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM). There is no timeline in place for weaning off Windows, but it\u2019s clear the government would like to feel less beholden to American firms that are increasingly stretching their monopolistic tendencies across borders.<\/p>\n In a translated statement<\/a>, French minister David Amiel called the move to Linux part of an attempt by the nation to \u201cregain control of our digital destiny.\u201d He explained that France can \u201cno longer accept that our data, our infrastructure, and our strategic decisions depend on solutions whose rules, pricing, evolution, and risks we do not control,\u201d and said, \u201cDigital sovereignty is not optional.\u201d<\/p>\n France has been actively trying to snap the chain tying it to Big Tech for a bit now. Earlier this year, the nation announced that it would ban<\/a> public officials from using American videoconferencing platforms, including Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams. During an appearance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron said, \u201cWe have to accelerate and clearly deliver all the components of a geopolitical power, in defence, in technology, and in the derisking vis-\u00e0-vis all the big powers in order to be much more independent\u201d\u2014a not so subtle message<\/a> to the rest of the European Union to move away from America.<\/p>\n Decoupling from the US tech industry is no small task. While the\u00a0European Commission is reportedly working on\u00a0legislation aimed at promoting tech sovereignty<\/a>, military experts have warned<\/a> that ditching the American tech stack comes with security risks (and *surely* those warnings aren\u2019t self-serving in any way). While it\u2019ll be a significant undertaking, polling seems to suggest<\/a> that European leaders have the support of the people to ditch American tech.<\/p>\n There are certainly some little conveniences that\u2019ll go away by moving off Windows. As XDA Developers points out<\/a>, moving to Linux will mean workers across the French government will have to shift to open-source software to take the place of the familiar (if annoying) Microsoft ecosystem. That probably means ditching Office 365 for LibreOffice or another alternative.<\/p>\n