Kamal Ghorui
Microsoft joins ONDC; to roll out shopping app for Indian consumers
France is trying to move on from Microsoft Windows. In a move, which is part of a broader European movement to reduce reliance on American tech, France has announced that it is dropping Microsoft Windows in favor of Linux. According to a report in Tech Crunch, France plans to move its workstations from Windows to the open-source Linux. Although homegrown alternatives aren’t available in many areas, the European Union (EU) seems prepared to wean itself off where it can.In a statement, French minister David Amiel reportedly said that the effort was to “regain control of our digital destiny” by relying less on U.S. tech companies. Amiel said that the French government can no longer accept that it doesn’t have control over its data and digital infrastructure. The French government, however, did not provide a specific timeline for the switchover, or which distributions it was considering. The switchover will begin with computers at the French government’s digital agency, DINUM. There has been a broader movement across Europe toward digital sovereignty, aimed at reducing reliance on foreign tech. This includes both American and Chinese technology. This comes as the lawmakers and government leaders across Europe are growing more aware of the looming threat facing them at home, and their over-reliance on U.S. technology. In January thus year, the European Parliament voted to adopt a report directing the European Commission to identify areas where the EU can reduce its reliance on foreign providers.“I want to be very clear: our digital sovereignty is our digital sovereignty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the Munich Security Conference in February. She added, “We have a long tradition in freedom of speech. Actually, the Enlightenment started on our continent.”
European Union stand in return of Trump Tariffs
This comes as the US President Trump has used tariffs and other measures to try to bully European nations into dropping their regulations on America’s tech industry. In December 2025, the US State department has barred five Europeans from the US, accusing them of leading efforts to pressure tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints, in the latest attack on European regulations that target hate speech and misinformation.Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the five people targeted with visa bans – who include former European Commissioner Thierry Breton – have led “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”“These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states – in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” Rubio said in an announcement.
