Paris: French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced on Tuesday that the national domestic intelligence agency has decided to terminate its contract with US-based data analytics company Palantir Technologies. Lecornu made the announcement in a video posted through the US social media company X, stating that the agency would replace Palantir with the French company ChapsVision.
According to Anadolu Agency, Lecornu emphasized France's commitment to supporting domestic and European solutions, highlighting the risks and costs of depending on foreign entities. He illustrated recent challenges such as paying for fuel and importing medicines as examples of these risks. Lecornu stressed the importance of ensuring that the technological revolution, particularly in artificial intelligence, benefits the French people. He stated that all public officials will soon be equipped with a shared sovereign chatbot to avoid reliance on foreign-developed tools.
Lecornu underscored the necessity to safeguard state data, describing it as a national asset, and declared that France's digital sovereignty is non-negotiable. He announced plans for the progressive sharing of advanced technologies developed by the Ministry of Armed Forces with other administrations starting this year. Additionally, Lecornu revealed that the France 2030 program would allocate an extra 655 million pounds ($759 million) towards artificial intelligence development, aiming to bolster infrastructure, computing capacity, research, and industrial sectors.
Highlighting the significance of technological sovereignty, Lecornu warned against relying on the "goodwill of certain partners" and stressed the importance of Europe finding its unique position to protect democratic values. However, in a statement later on Tuesday, Palantir disputed Lecornu's announcement, asserting that its long-term contract with France's domestic intelligence agency (DGSI) "remains fully in force," according to French technology news outlet Les Numeriques. The company claimed the contract had been renewed until the end of 2025 and that it continues to meet the highest security and data protection standards. As of now, neither the French Prime Minister's Office nor the DGSI has publicly responded to Palantir's statement.