Great news today the French government have launched their own Visio video conferencing tool #digitalsovereignty

@jim On their Websites, the government says clearly that it is open source: "Suite #Visio. Simple. Open-source."
Visio website: https://lasuite.numerique.gouv.fr/produits/visio
They have also new products to stop with Google & Co: mail, docs, transfer, chat: https://lasuite.numerique.gouv.fr/ and their Mastodon Channel @lasuite

#DINUM responsable for the #transition has an own server here: https://social.numerique.gouv.fr/about Collaborators like the @cnrs are here with several accounts.

#digitalsovereignty #France #CNRS #EU

@jim one of the groups behind it is doing a talk at #fosdem this week https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/THRG3E-la_suite_coop_model_for_digital_commons/

@gfkdsgn These systems are intranet systems for the state and administration, and also for military. Therefore, they developped a completely independent system. https://www.numerique.gouv.fr/sinformer/espace-presse/souverainete-numerique-etat-visio-solution-visioconference-agents-publics/

@jim @nextcloud

@Phosphenes They developped French AI, placed in France, using them for subtitles and transscripts of conferences. If you know the amount of papers in French administration, this can be a help. https://www.numerique.gouv.fr/sinformer/espace-presse/souverainete-numerique-etat-visio-solution-visioconference-agents-publics/

@cstanhope @eparto @jim

@unruhe @jim I think the better question is how they contribute back to the open source projects they’re using. That repo shows a bunch of projects, and they have the resources to contribute back.

@j0ebaldw1n Visio is a normal word in French, the abbreviation of visioconférence. Normal words can't be trademarked so easily - and they use it only for France.
You can be sure that the state can afford the best solicitors.

@jim

@ananas @humanhorseshoes @jim The linked article says no, so that's a little confusing.

@acdha @jim good question!

RE: https://social.openrightsgroup.org/@jim/115966835615949718

@jim
@onepict
does your project leaverage this code?

@NatureMC @j0ebaldw1n @jim I find it very hard to believe that Microsoft doesn't already hold a trademark on the word that is valid in France.

https://branddb.wipo.int/en/similarname/brand/FR501998098727661

@gcvsa Let that be a problem for the French state's lawyers! BTW, the French product is called "Suite Visio" and it's part of "LaSuite" https://lasuite.numerique.gouv.fr/ (you have 23 trademarks for that word and they can co-exist because they are different.)

. @j0ebaldw1n @jim

@gcvsa @NatureMC @jim They do, French trademark registration FR98727661, which applies to computer software and communication via an online service https://data.inpi.fr/marques/FR98727661?q=#FR98727661

@jim Très bonne nouvelle ! 🇨🇺

@jim daily reminder that the secret french service signed a three year contract with palantir
https://21stcenturywire.com/2025/12/17/outsourcing-security-the-palantir-paradox-at-the-heart-of-french-intelligence/

So I would not say the digital sovereignty is here

@cos @jim
Short answer seems to be : scalability.
They have calling integrated in tchap, but don't advise it for calls with more than 2 people, they also have a jitsi-based service called "WebConf" which is advised for up to 50 people. Visio is up to 150 and Webinaire 350. All based on different technologies.

@gemlog @jim We've not taken a look at that yet. So I can't say how compatible it would be.

We're trying to build from the idea of a multicast Internet, which is not the same design principle that this is being built on. They need to build an alternative for now with the internet that we currently have. Which isn't designed for multicast.

I do welcome having alternatives to zoom for our governmental infrastructure to use.

@humanhorseshoes @jim
Short answer : no, not just like that.
Slightly longer answer :
You could self-host the software on a server or find someone else that does it and would grant access to you thanks to it being open source, but the French state only offers its own hosted service ("Visio" etc.) to its employees.