France’s domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, has begun phasing out the American company Palantir and chose French firm Chapsvision as its local replacement for critical data analysis. The transition is expected to take several years and reflects a broader European push for technological sovereignty and less dependence on U.S. software.
The DGSI started using Palantir after the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, when security agencies urgently adopted the company’s Gotham platform for data analysis. French intelligence officials had described the U.S. system as only a temporary solution until a domestic alternative was ready, and now, nearly a decade later, that alternative has arrived. Palantir said its contract with the DGSI remains in force for now and that its systems will stay active during the transition to avoid capability gaps in a sensitive national security area.
Palantir, founded in 2003 after the intelligence failures exposed by the September 11 attacks, has a long record of high-profile operations and controversy. Reports say it played a major role in the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Operation Neptune Spear. Since January 2025, it has also signed more than $81 million in contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including ImmigrationOS and ELITE, which maps potential deportation targets.
Chapsvision, founded in 2019, markets itself as a European competitor to Palantir and specializes in combining and analyzing large data sets from multiple sources. The company reported 2025 revenue of 200 million euros. Germany is following a similar path, with its intelligence services also moving away from Palantir and adopting Chapsvision’s ArgonOS.
France’s break with Palantir is part of a wider sovereignty drive that includes an extra 655 million euros for local AI development. By year-end, the government plans to launch a general-purpose chatbot for state employees built by French company Mistral AI, as well as a dedicated health assistant for the national health insurance agency. The shift comes as Britain debates a 330 million pound Palantir contract, London has blocked a proposed deal with the company over privacy and value concerns, and U.S. restrictions on foreign access to advanced AI models have deepened European worries about dependence on American technology.
