The comparative work by the european Open Source Observatory is really important - not just the data but the way it brings us together.

• The 2016 law for a digital republic encourages the administration to use free software.
• This is not a formal priority like in Italy.
• The current doctrine is to use free software where it suits best (a "pragmatical" approach, as expressed by the head of DINUM.)

• We have catalog of recommended free software for the public sector: sill.etalab.gouv.fr
• As of 2020-04-23, we have a list of 3697 public sector repositories : code.etalab.gouv.fr
• The DINUM publishes a newsletter on open source (#BlueHats gazette).
• In 2018, the DINUM started a larger movement : the BlueHats community and recently organized an open source sprint.
• The DINUM set up a partnership with Adullact in january. Adullact's mission is to help cities and small public agencies to adopt open source solutions - they will also promote the open source tools that are developed by the whole public sector.
• The DGFiP is coordinating the relaunch of a the free software maintenance market for the public sector (we learned from our mistakes).
• The DINUM (with other administrative bodies) is rewriting the procurement template for buying open source in the public sector (here again, trying to learn from our mistakes).

• An informal observation: not innovation first, but community first.
• We have a large community of developers around the DINUM, now very engaged into proposing various open source solutions spontaneously.
• In the higher education and research sector, there is a new mailing list to gather volunteers who want to help deploy servers for jitsi, etc.
• Tchap has doubled its number of users and the crisis helped accelerating the generalization of the access (e.g. now fireworkers can use it.)
• The civil society organized itself to help teachers accomplish their mission distantly: www.continuitepedagogique.org
• In general: the current situation blurs the boundaries between the administration and the civil efforts, and open source helps as a common "cultural" background and as a common way of doing things.
• All of this if very much in line with the idea behind the #bluehats movement, identifying hackers of public interest.

• Framasoft is a french NGO promoting the use of free software in every sectors and providing online services to help people avoid GAFAM services.
• Four years ago, they had discussions with the ministry of education but this led nowhere (Framasoft was quite upset that their volunteers lost time discussing non-conclusive collaboration opportunities.)
• At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, the ministry of higher education asked public agents to use Framasoft services… forgetting that Framasoft, while doing an amazing job, is only a small NGO with limited resources.
• Framasoft replied with "teachers, please don't use our tools, ask your administration to deploy their own tools instead."
• This raised awareness about the fact that services, even "gratis" services, always come with a cost and that open source is a mean to decentralize services and/or should be perceived as such.