France joins the Digital Public Goods Alliance to promote an inclusive and equitable digital future (23 september 2025)

By joining the DPGA, a multi-stakeholder initiative supported by the United Nations, France is partnering with a global network of stakeholders to promote the development and deployment of digital public goods. These open-source solutions (software, data sets, AI systems, content collections) allow better interoperability, privacy and practices, paving the way for digital services to respect fundamental rights, help reduce the digital divide and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Ministry’s partnership with the Alliance will be structured around two priority areas, extending the initiatives already undertaken by French digital diplomacy:

1. Fostering international dialogue in support of public goods. France will leverage its diplomatic network to actively promote international cooperation for digital commons. Rooted in a firm belief in an inclusive, multi-stakeholder governance, this commitment is the continuation of France’s efforts to establish common principles for the digital word. These include the endorsement of the United Nations’ Open Source Principles, the creation of the Current AI foundation to steer artificial intelligence towards the public interest, and the French-German cooperation to build an interoperable public digital ecosystem (“La Suite Numérique”).

2. Supporting and promoting French and European digital commons. France commits to promoting solutions developed within its ecosystem as concrete contributions to the international community. An emblematic example is the State-incubated startup "Open Terms Archive," an essential digital common that ensures the traceability of very large online platforms terms and conditions, thus allowing transparency of digital services and protection of users’ rights online. The DPGA membership will allow better cooperation following the model of the “In_Fra_Structures” event, which brings together experts and partners from both France and India to discuss and develop concrete cooperation in the fields of education and health. Moreover, France will actively support other initiatives from its ecosystem, such as the AI model comparator “Compar:IA”, in their process of being recognized as digital public goods.

Through this membership, France intends to play an active role in building a shared path of digital public goods to serve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this membership, France intends to play an active role in building a shared path of digital public goods to serve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“France’s membership of the DPGA will bring a global boost to the digital commons concept, where digital public goods are stewarded through more inclusive and collaborative governance models. At a time when both international cooperation and international development assistance are under pressure, France’s commitment to promote open source technologies for the global public interest is truly inspiring”, says Liv Marte Nordhaug, CEO of the DPGA Secretariat.