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It was one of the central questions of the round‑table “Heading Toward Digital Independence” at the Forum Les Interconnectés.
For years, the debate on digital sovereignty has often been reduced to a single objection:
“There is no credible alternative.”
Let’s be honest, today, that is no longer the issue.
As our president Alexandre Zapolsky reminded us:
“If we accept that the buttons aren’t exactly the same colour in the same place, the alternatives already exist.”
The remark made the audience smile, yet it perfectly captures the challenge we face.
Technology is now ready. What still hinders change is often our habits rather than the tools themselves
-> We have learned to use certain services, to work in a particular way. And without even noticing it, we sometimes come to see these practices as the only possible way to do things.
Throughout the discussions with Edward Jossa (UGAP), Christophe Lombard (CANUT), Guillaume Poupard (Orange), Mickaël Aude Gond (Communauté Urbaine d’Arras) and Manu Reynaud (Montpellier, City, Metropolis and CCAS), one observation kept resurfacing:
-> Digital sovereignty will not be built only with new tools.
It will also be forged by the choices we make every day.
-> Choosing an open alternative, hosting data elsewhere, and, more importantly, embracing change when it makes sense. These decisions may seem modest at the scale of an individual user or an organization, but when added together they shape the digital landscape we want for tomorrow.
And if there is one domain where we cannot afford to repeat the dependencies of the past, it is artificial intelligence.
Thank you to Céline Colucci for moderating the discussion, and to Les Interconnectés for this edition that allowed us to address these questions head‑on.
