While digital sovereignty dominates political decision-making, the issue is not equally embraced by public sector workers.
According to an Ipsos survey conducted for Lecko, only 12% of public sector employees interviewed explicitly expect their administration to prioritise sovereignty in shaping the evolution of their digital work tools.
For the overwhelming majority (88%), other criteria far outrun sovereignty considerations. Their top priority: the daily effectiveness of the tools. Whether French, European or American, employees expect solutions that work, truly meet their needs, and enable them to perform their duties in good conditions.
This pragmatic stance is further evidenced by a revealing phenomenon: 60% of respondents acknowledge resorting to “Shadow IT,” i.e., using applications not validated by their IT department. A form of foot voting that proves that official solutions—sovereign or not—do not always satisfy ground-level expectations.
Efficiency Before Geopolitics
This low emphasis on sovereignty prompts questions at several levels. First, regarding user maturity: the concept of digital sovereignty, while broadly understood, does not register as an urgent priority in everyday professional life. The legal threats linked to the extraterritorial reach of American laws, the confidentiality risks for data, or the issues of technological independence are still seen as distant concerns, detached from practical realities.
But this indifference also calls into question the public sector’s ability to articulate a credible alternative vision. How can one persuade agents to buy into a sovereignty project if the proposed solutions do not offer an experience of equal quality or better than that of American tech giants? A few pioneers in a desert.
Despite this challenging context, a handful of local authorities are taking the plunge. The Occitanie Region, the City of Marseille, Chamonix, Grenoble, and Lyon are gradually moving away from American software suites in favor of free and open-source solutions. These initiatives remain marginal in a landscape largely dominated by Microsoft, which equips 75% of organizations with more than 250 employees.
These pioneering experiences, commendable as they are, run into the same obstacles: resistance to change, compatibility issues, and above all the mismatch between the stated political ambition and the real buy‑in from final users.
A Triple Challenge to Overcome
For digital sovereignty to become a reality in French administrations, three major challenges must be addressed. First, to reconcile the strategic aims of decision-makers with the pragmatic expectations of public servants. Then, to offer sovereign solutions that are not perceived as compromising on efficiency or usability. Finally, to make substantial investments in training and change management to convey the long‑term stakes.
Without genuine field buy‑in, sovereignty projects risk remaining at the level of political intention, unable to translate into tangible changes in practice.
