Recasts with Palantir, Matignon comments

By Inti Landauro

PARIS, June 16 (Reuters) - France's domestic intelligence agency DGSI will replace tools from U.S. tech firm Palantir PLTR.O in favour of a French rival, ChapsVision, the French Prime Minister's office said on Tuesday, although the process is likely to take several years.

In a video post on X, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said ChapsVision had on Tuesday "been retained by the DGSI ... to substitute the American giant Palantir".

However, after Palantir said its long-term contract with the DGSI, which was renewed at the end of 2025 for several more years, "remains fully in force," Lecornu's office clarified that Palantir's tools would continue to be used until ChapsVision's could be integrated "to avoid a capability gap".

ChapsVision did not respond to a request for comment.

EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS ARE WARY

European governments have grown increasingly wary about dependency on U.S. tech platforms, and particularly on Palantir Technologies' PLTR.O suite of products.

Founded by billionaire Peter Thiel with backing from the CIA, Palantir sells military-grade AI data integration tools to governments and businesses.

"We must use our own AI models; we cannot accept new strategic dependencies in the digital sphere," Lecornu said on X. "We cannot rely on tools developed by foreign powers. France must have its own tools."

U.S. President Donald Trump's unpredictability on the global stage has led European allies to question whether U.S. support in areas, including security and technology, can still be taken for granted.

Germany's military has said it will no longer use Palantir, while Britain is reviewing the National Health Service's £330 million ($440 million) data contract with Palantir following political and parliamentary pressure.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also blocked a proposed £50 million Palantir contract with the capital's police, citing value-for-money and procurement grounds. Palantir threatened legal proceedings in response.

Lecornu said France plans to invest €655 million ($760 million) in artificial intelligence, and set up a shared chatbot for all state services.

It will also create a public health chatbot for the state-owned health insurance agency Ameli, and a new digital platform to simplify access to public data.
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