Digital Sovereignty: France Tackles the "Bigger Challenge"

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clarus.news | Analysis | April 14, 2026

National Councilor Gerhard Andrey (Greens) is arguably the most determined advocate of digital sovereignty in the Federal Assembly. In December 2025, together with SVP Council of States member Werner Salzmann, he unanimously aligned the entire National Council against the Federal Council – for more cybersecurity and an open-source alternative to Microsoft. In an exclusive exchange with clarus.news, he identifies the hurdles, criticizes the austerity policy of the bourgeois majority, and explains why replacing Microsoft remains a "bigger challenge." Meanwhile, France decided on April 8, 2026, to switch to Linux. And the army is building its New Digitalization Platform using American virtualization technology of all things.

The MS Replacement Turbo in the Federal Assembly

Anyone who considers Gerhard Andrey hesitant missed December 2025. As watson reported, the green IT entrepreneur and SVP Council of States member Werner Salzmann pulled off a parliamentary coup: In the budget debate, the two pushed through across party lines that the army must invest 10 million francs from its IT budget in developing an open-source alternative to Microsoft Office – earmarked and against the explicit resistance of Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter. The National Council voted unanimously in favor.

The trigger was a strongly worded letter from the then army chief Thomas Süssli to the Delegate for Digital Transformation. Süssli complained that Microsoft 365 was "largely unusable" for the army, as the Cloud Act allows US authorities access to the data – and the majority of military documents are classified. Andrey seized the "opportunity": The army should work together with the civilian federal administration on an open-source platform that should also be available to private users.

"It is the demanded exit strategy of the army chief," said Andrey. "This is an important step for more digital sovereignty and independence of Switzerland."

The Honest Diagnosis: "A Bigger Challenge"

As determined as Andrey acts in parliament, his analysis in conversation with clarus.news is equally sober. A complete replacement of Microsoft 365 in the entire federal administration? "That would be a bigger challenge, which would certainly take several years," says Andrey. In a limited scope, switching to alternatives would be possible within months – and is already happening. But Microsoft reaches "deep into the administration, also with countless specialized applications that depend on proprietary MS technologies."

He describes the path to digital sovereignty overall as a "generational task." He sees the political will clearly: Parliament has consistently voted for open source and digital sovereignty with EMBAG, SGC, Digisanté, E-Collecting, and E-ID. But "the political will and administrative reality diverge somewhat, even in Switzerland there are major contradictions. Just recently, the approximately 40,000 workplaces of the federal administration were upgraded to the new Office365 version."

Andrey sharply criticizes the austerity policy: "The unnecessary austerity policy of the Federal Council and the bourgeois majority is contradictory. It is precisely such progress and innovation topics where massive cuts are made." Cuts are also being made to E-ID and Digisanté. "The consequence is that the programs take longer and are generally weakened, I criticize this sharply."

Consent Instead of Consensus: Andrey's Governance Model

When asked how community building should work with systemically limited steering power – the SFAO has documented the lack of enforcement competence of the Delegate for Digital Transformation in audit report 23759 – Andrey refers to a fundamentally different approach: the sociocratic consent model.

"The question there is not 'are enough for it,' but 'are there valid objections' – 'not feeling like it' is not a valid objection, for example," says Andrey. This is a subtle but essential difference from classical consensus: Not everyone has to agree – there simply must not be a justified veto.

The E-ID referendum shows that this approach can work. "Organized Switzerland" – from left to right, from Digitalswitzerland to civil rights advocates, i.e., from business and professional associations to civil rights organizations – supported the proposal together. "Without such an approach, the popular vote could not have been won," says Andrey. The additional effort compared to a usual consultation procedure is worthwhile: "The proposals are better supported and also pass popular votes. A failed proposal costs the general public far more."

He confirms that the assignment to the Federal Chancellery created in 2020 is fundamentally correct: "One must review this again to increase commitment and accelerate penetration. Nevertheless, these questions are correctly located at the Federal Chancellery."

France: From Pilot Operation to State Program

While Switzerland discusses governance models, France acted on April 8, 2026. The digital authority DINUM decided on concrete measures at an interministerial seminar:

  • DINUM is switching its own workplaces from Windows to Linux.
  • Every ministry must submit a binding migration plan by autumn 2026 – for operating systems, collaboration tools, antivirus software, AI systems, databases, and network technology.
  • Around 2.5 million civil servants are affected.
  • The open-source video conferencing solution Visio is already replacing Microsoft Teams and Zoom in several ministries, hosted on sovereign French cloud infrastructure (Outscale/Dassault Systèmes, ANSSI-certified).
  • The national health insurance (80,000 employees) is switching to the messenger Tchap, Visio, and FranceTransfert.

France's Digital Minister David Amiel states unambiguously: It is about "regaining control over digital destiny." The government treats migration not as an IT project but as a strategic infrastructure issue.

France also struggles with contradictions: The Ministry of Education recently extended a 152-million-euro framework contract with Microsoft until 2029 – for around one million workplaces in schools and universities, contrary to its own open-source strategy. But the crucial difference from Switzerland: France has DINUM as a central instance that can demand and enforce roadmaps across ministries.

The NDP: Sovereignty with American Foundation?

Andrey's 10-million coup for an open-source alternative is politically significant. But a closer look at the army's largest digitalization project – the New Digitalization Platform (NDP) – reveals a structural problem: The NDP, which is set to go live on July 1, 2026, in partially and fully protected data centers, is based on virtualized systems with industry-standard products – specifically on the virtualization technology from Broadcom/VMware, an American provider.

The DDPS itself quantifies the financially effective expenditure at 477 million francs. The further expansion continues into the 2030s. And this is precisely where the dilemma lies:

First, the army is building its sovereign platform – the only one in Switzerland that should be protected against physical attacks, cyber attacks, and power outages – on technology from a US corporation that is subject to the same Cloud Act risks that army chief Süssli warned about in September 2025.

Second, the long development period carries significant risks. Large IT projects of the Confederation have a notorious tendency to be delayed, become more expensive, or never be fully implemented. The SFAO audited the project in 2023 and 2024 and found that financial resources are "not sufficiently available." Twenty other projects depend on the Swiss Command Network – the major project with the most dependencies in the Defense Group. According to the SFAO, "comprehensive control of all sub-projects" is lacking.

Third, the question of genuine autonomy arises. The NDP should by definition function "factually operationally autonomous" – no one should be able to pull the plug on the operator. But if the virtualization layer comes from a US provider that can change licensing models, increase prices, or respond to regulatory pressure at any time, this autonomy is an illusion. Broadcom has done exactly that since the VMware takeover in 2023: restructured licensing models, massively increased prices, cut partner programs.

The Motion and the SVP Contradiction

Andrey has demanded participatory processes in the digital sector with motion 25.3235 "More Participation, Better Digitalization." The Federal Council recommends acceptance. Council of States member Matthias Michel (FDP) has submitted an identical motion – rare cross-party unanimity. But SVP National Councilor Mauro Tuena has opposed the motion and postponed the discussion.

The irony: It is precisely the SVP, whose Council of States member Salzmann together with Andrey landed the unanimous cybersecurity coup, that blocks the motion for better coordination through Tuena. Andrey's alliance with Salzmann shows that digital sovereignty is not a left-right issue – the opposition by Tuena shows that not everyone in the SVP faction sees it that way.

The SVP position "less state, less bureaucracy" stands in natural tension with participatory processes that require resources. Andrey counters with the E-ID example: Without a broad community approach, the popular vote could not have been won. The effort pays off – a failed proposal is more expensive.

Conclusion: The Right Man, the Wrong Pace?

Gerhard Andrey is undoubtedly the most determined advocate of digital sovereignty in the Federal Assembly. His coup with Salzmann, the double motion with Michel, his consistent advocacy for open source – this is political work at the highest level.

But the structures in which he works slow him down. The SFAO documents lacking enforcement power. The austerity policy weakens digitalization programs. And the army is building its "sovereign" platform using American virtualization technology of all things – a contradiction that doesn't appear in any Sunday speech.

France meanwhile shows that it can be done differently: not with feasibility studies and PoCs, but with binding deadlines and a central instance that can enforce. Switzerland does not lack political will – it lacks executive competence in digital transformation.

Andrey is right: The "bigger challenge" is not the technology. It is the governance.

France has understood this. The question is whether Switzerland does so in time.

This article is based on an exclusive email exchange between clarus.news and National Councilor Gerhard Andrey (Greens/Fribourg) in April 2026, SFAO audit report 23759 (Federal Digitalization Management, November 2024), SFAO audit reports 23155 and 24127 (NDP), the watson report "Coup in the Federal Assembly" (December 2025) as well as publicly accessible sources on French digitalization strategy.

Sources:

  • Email exchange clarus.news / NC Gerhard Andrey, April 2026
  • watson: "Coup in the Federal Assembly: Green and SVP man outmaneuver the Federal Council," December 12, 2025
  • SFAO audit report 23759: Federal Digitalization Management, November 2024
  • SFAO audit reports 23155 / 24127: NDP ICT Architecture & Infrastructure
  • Motion 25.3235: "More Participation, Better Digitalization" (Andrey)
  • Motion 25.3259: "More Participation, Better Digitalization" (Michel)
  • DDPS: NDP Program – New Digitalization Platform
  • heise online: "France's Plan: Away from Windows, Toward Linux," April 10, 2026
  • DINUM: Interministerial Communiqué, April 8, 2026

Tags: #DigitalSovereignty #OpenSource #Microsoft365 #FederalAdministration #France #Linux #GerhardAndrey #WernerSalzmann #NDP #Cybersecurity #SFAO #Broadcom #VMware

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