France drops Palantir AI tools and bets on a domestic provider
France just made a move that could change the game for artificial intelligence in Europe. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that the French domestic intelligence service, the DGSI, will stop using AI tools from American giant Palantir and replace them with a solution developed within the country itself.
The reason is straightforward: France no longer wants to depend on technologies controlled by foreign powers.
We need to use our own AI models. We cannot accept new strategic dependencies in the digital sphere, Lecornu stated on his social media. We cannot rely on tools developed by foreign powers. France needs to have its own tools.
The decision comes at a time when European governments are increasingly worried about U.S. influence over critical digital tools. In the week before the announcement, Washington decided to restrict foreign citizens’ access to Anthropic’s latest AI model, which only reinforced fears of technological dependence across the European continent.
And it’s not just France thinking along these lines — pressure on Palantir is building in multiple countries at the same time. 🌍
Taking the American company’s place is ChapsVision, a French firm founded in 2019 that’s already turning heads well beyond France’s borders. Behind this swap lies a bigger plan: building real digital autonomy, backed by billions in investment and homegrown AI tools, for a state that doesn’t want to be at anyone’s mercy.
Why did France decide to turn its back on Palantir?
Palantir is one of the most well-known data analytics and artificial intelligence companies in the world, with revenue of $4.5 billion and multimillion-dollar contracts with governments and military forces around the globe. Co-founded by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, a close ally of Donald Trump, the company works with the U.S. government providing software to ICE — the agency leading an immigration crackdown in the United States — and also to identify targets in the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran.
In recent years, the company’s name has become synonymous with controversy in Europe. Civil rights organizations have long warned that Palantir’s products carry risks related to mass surveillance, violations of individual freedoms, and data protection issues. The company, for its part, insists it simply provides powerful data processing services.
For many European leaders, the combination of political alignments and privacy risks was a growing red flag. When you entrust sensitive state data to a foreign company, you’re essentially accepting the rules of that company’s game — and that includes the values, pressures, and interests of whoever sits on the other side of the Atlantic.
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In France’s specific case, the concern goes beyond ideological questions. The DGSI, France’s domestic intelligence service, handles extremely sensitive national security information, and any technological vulnerability in that environment can have serious consequences. Keeping this kind of operation dependent on an American platform means, in practice, that strategic data could be subject to laws like the United States’ Cloud Act, which allows the U.S. government to request access to data stored by American companies, even if that data sits on servers outside the country. That’s the kind of risk France is clearly no longer willing to take.
Lecornu was emphatic in saying that France needs to build real autonomy and not depend on the goodwill of certain partners, who are capable of turning off the tap to artificial intelligence access. A statement that leaves very little room for interpretation. 🇫🇷
On top of that, the timing of this decision is no accident. Europe is going through a deep reassessment of its technological dependencies, accelerated by both the war in Ukraine and trade tensions with the United States. Several countries across the continent have already begun reviewing contracts with major American tech companies, and France is, once again, at the forefront of this movement.
ChapsVision: France’s bet at the heart of sovereign AI
Founded in 2019, ChapsVision might seem too young to take on such a strategic role, but the company grew fast and with purpose. With revenue of 200 million euros (roughly $224 million) in 2025, it’s still tiny compared to Palantir. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in focus and strategic positioning.
Specializing in artificial intelligence solutions for the public sector, the French company developed platforms designed for large-scale data collection, preparation, and analysis — exactly the kind of technology the French intelligence service needs to operate efficiently. The difference now is that France will have full control over where the data lives and who can access it.
ChapsVision itself stated that it will become the technological foundation for many public agencies in their critical data processing needs. That’s not an empty statement — the company had already been expanding its footprint even before this announcement.
What sets ChapsVision apart from a typical startup is precisely its focus on technological sovereignty from day one. While many AI companies build their products with global scalability and partnerships with American Big Tech in mind, ChapsVision was designed to meet the specific demands of European governments, respecting the continent’s data protection regulations and ensuring that all infrastructure can be operated within national borders.
And there’s more: according to reports, ChapsVision’s technology has also been selected by the BfV, Germany’s domestic security service. In other words, it’s not just France putting its trust in the French company — Europe’s largest country is also eyeing this solution. 🚀
The choice of ChapsVision sends an important signal to the European tech ecosystem as a whole. When a government decides to bet on a domestic company to replace an American giant in high-stakes operations, it’s saying it believes in the local sector’s ability to deliver government-grade solutions. That opens doors for other companies in the space, attracts investment, and sets a precedent that other European countries can follow.
However, since Palantir’s long-term contract was renewed in 2025, the replacement process is expected to take several years before it’s fully completed. The transition won’t happen overnight, but the direction is already clear.
Palantir under pressure across Europe
The French decision isn’t an isolated case. Palantir is facing growing resistance in virtually every major European market.
The German military has already announced it will no longer use the company’s products. Britain is reviewing the National Health Service’s (NHS) £330 million contract with Palantir, following significant political and parliamentary pressure.
In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a proposed £50 million contract between Palantir and the Metropolitan Police, citing cost-effectiveness concerns and procurement procedures. In response, Palantir threatened legal action against the decision.
The American company stated that it will continue to support the French government where its solutions are needed, maintaining a diplomatic tone in the face of the decision. But it’s hard not to see the bigger picture here as a broader trend of European pullback.
This collective movement by European governments shows that the narrative has shifted. What was once treated as a technical discussion about software efficiency is now a matter of national sovereignty and geopolitics. And in this new framing, companies like Palantir find themselves at a disadvantage.
The bigger plan: 655 million euros and a chatbot for the French state
Replacing Palantir with ChapsVision isn’t a standalone move within France’s own strategy. It’s part of a much broader government agenda to build a sovereign digital infrastructure.
At the same time as the announcement, Lecornu revealed that France plans to invest 655 million euros in artificial intelligence. That money will be directed toward infrastructure, computing capacity, research, companies, and industrial sectors, according to the prime minister.
Among the practical projects is the creation of a shared chatbot for all government services and also a public health chatbot for Ameli, France’s state health insurance agency.
France has already started rolling out a government AI tool that offers a chatbot to 1 million of its 2.6 million public servants. This tool was built on models from Mistral AI, another French startup that has been making waves on the global artificial intelligence scene. The system was designed to help with tasks like speeding up judicial processes and helping researchers secure funding for their projects.
French ministers are also committed to fighting the security risk posed by the use of commercial AI tools within the government. The idea is that by having its own solutions, the French state can maintain control over sensitive information that could leak if employees used third-party AI platforms.
This move is aligned with broader European Union initiatives, like the EU AI Act and the bloc’s efforts to create European alternatives to the major American and Chinese tech players. France has historically been one of the most active voices within the EU in defense of policies that protect the continent’s digital autonomy, and now it’s putting into practice what it has been preaching for years. 💡
What does this mean for the future of AI in Europe?
France’s decision to replace Palantir with a domestic solution like ChapsVision is more than a vendor swap — it’s a signal that the balance of power in the artificial intelligence market may be starting to shift. For years, major American tech companies dominated government contracts around the world, often without any real competition from local players. But as governments wake up to the geopolitical risks of that dependence, the space for regional and national solutions is growing significantly.
For the European artificial intelligence ecosystem, this is an important moment. Investment, talent, and public policy are aligning in a way that hasn’t happened with this intensity before. France is leading, but other countries are watching closely. Germany, Italy, Spain, and even smaller Eastern European nations have shown growing interest in developing their own AI capabilities for government use, especially in areas like defense, security, and critical infrastructure.
The narrative that only American Big Tech can deliver AI solutions at scale is being challenged. Concrete cases like the adoption of ChapsVision by French intelligence — and potentially by German domestic security — help prove that viable alternative paths exist.
There’s also a cultural and political dimension to this story that deserves attention. Digital autonomy isn’t just a technical or economic issue — it touches on values like privacy, democracy, and national independence. When France decides it doesn’t want sensitive state data passing through platforms controlled by foreign companies, it’s reaffirming something fundamental: technology is power, and power in the 21st century increasingly depends on who controls the data, the algorithms, and the digital infrastructure.
That’s a lesson every country, not just European ones, should take seriously. What started as a French national decision could very well turn into one of the most emblematic cases of technological sovereignty in Europe for decades to come. 🔐
