French local authorities will replace WhatsApp and Teams with a ‘sovereign’ Matrix-based messaging service

The useful part

French local authorities to replace WhatsApp with 'sovereign' encrypted messaging | Computer Weekly Home Open source software gonin. The project will allow local authorities in France to communicate securely with French central government departments, which run a similar Matrix-based secure messaging service. Matthieu Faure is director of Adullact, an association of French local authorities, which promotes the use of free and open source software in local government.

How it works

• Local authorities taking part in the pilot Sitiv – a digital service provider that works with local authorities in the Rhone basin.
• Tchap, which went live in 2019, has more than 400,000 active monthly users across French central government, where its use became mandatory last year.
• The service allows French government departments to keep their communications data on their own infrastructure rather than cloud platforms operated by third parties, which may hold their data in another...
• Adullact, working with Déclic, a network of local government digital technology specialists, ran a small-scale pilot project with four local government regions covering the area around Grenoble, Montpellier...
• Work is also underway to link the local government messaging service with Tchap.

What to take from it

How to make AI better at defense The agentic AI playing field was heavily tilted toward offense, so researchers began using red team agents to help teach their... "This sounded a wake-up call for a lot of local government organisations," he said. Strasbourg – a city in North Eastern France, home of the European Parliament.

Example or evidence

• The cost of software provided by Microsoft and other large suppliers is increasing year on year and is not sustainable, Faure argues.
• In the future, Matrix could also offer video services, allowing it to operate as an alternative to Microsoft Teams.
• "We know in some territories there is high addiction to Microsoft," said Faure.
• New research shows how security scanners embedded in the software supply chain can be attacked to serve as a foothold for...

Details worth keeping

Known as the Matrix Federation, it aims to offer local authorities an alternative to commercial messaging services that will give them greater control of their data and the flexibility to change suppliers without being locked in to one company. Faure told Computer Weekly that interest in open source alternatives has accelerated in France following US sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2025, which showed the vulnerability of US cloud services to political sanctions. It led to Microsoft and other US companies cutting off services to French judge Nicolas Guillou, along with other ICC officials, leaving him unable to use Microsoft's services, shop online or use common phone apps such as Uber, PayPal or Airbnb.

Related coverage

• Thelocal: The French government submitted a reworked proposal to ban social media for children, after its previous ban was struck down by the country's top constitutional authority, President Emmanuel Macron said on...
• Thearabianstories: PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said the government today notified the European Commission of the new draft law, following the completion of the necessary technical work required to prepare it.
• Cybersecuritynews: Switzerland's federal administration is preparing to test a sovereign, open-source digital workplace that could reduce its long-term dependence on Microsoft 365 for sensitive government operations.