The Wall Street Journal
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What’s News
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2026
2/22/2026 6:00:00 AMShare This Episode
Do Foreign Governments Need American Tech?
外国政府はアメリカのテクノロジーを必要としているのか。
France recently ordered government workers to stop using American videoconferencing tools like Teams or Zoom and instead use a program developed by the French state. The move is just the latest example of a growing “tech sovereignty” trend, as countries seek to build their own digital technologies to reduce their dependence on the U.S. private sector. Luke Vargas speaks to the man leading France’s “digital sovereignty” push, David Amiel, France’s Minister for State Reform, and to WSJ tech reporter Sam Schechner about what it could all mean for Silicon Valley.
- foreign governments — 外国政府
- videoconferencing tools /ˌvɪdioʊˈkɑːnfərənsɪŋ/ ビデオ会議ツール
- order A to stop ～ — Aに～をやめるよう命じる
- instead /ɪnˈsted/ 代わりに
- developed by the state — 国家によって開発された
- tech sovereignty — 技術主権
- reduce dependence on — ～への依存を減らす
- private sector — 民間部門
- digital sovereignty — デジタル主権
- push /pʊʃ/ 推進、後押し
- what it could mean for ～ — ～にとって何を
Luke Vargas: Hey, What's News listeners. It's Sunday, February 22nd. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News Sunday, the show where we tackle the big questions about the biggest stories in the news by reaching out to our colleagues across the newsroom to help explain what's happening in our world. And this week, do foreign governments need American tech? Last month, France ordered government workers to stop using Teams, Zoom, Skype, GoTo Meeting, and Webex, claiming that their proliferation had made France dependent on non-European actors, and instead government workers were to use a homegrown communication tool developed by the French state. The move is just the latest example of a growing tech sovereignty trend as countries seek to build their own digital technologies, from communications platforms to AI systems, cloud networks, or even chips, and reduce their dependence on the U.S. private sector. Coming up, we'll speak to the man leading France's digital sovereignty push, and talk to Journal Tech Reporter Sam Schechner about what it could all mean for Silicon Valley. Let's get right to it.
Well, the French state may be eager to cut the cord on Silicon Valley, but will digital sovereignty actually become more than a slogan? And what's at stake here for U.S. tech? Journal Tech Reporter Sam Schechner joins me now. Sam, set the scene for us. What is digital sovereignty, and why is everyone in Europe these days talking about it?
- cut the cord /kʌt ðə kɔːrd/ 関係を断つ、依存をやめる
元々は「（テレビの）ケーブルを解約する」意味。
比喩で「依存関係を断つ」 - Silicon Valley — シリコンバレー
- digital sovereignty — デジタル主権
- more than a slogan — 単なるスローガン以上のもの
- what's at stake — 何が懸かっているのか
- U.S. tech — 米国テック業界
- set the scene — 状況を説明する、背景を整理する
- these days /ðiːz deɪz/ 最近では、近頃
Sam Schechner: Well, something does seem different in the air right now, certainly after the dust-up that maybe isn't quite over around Greenland. And in general, since the arrival of President Trump, I think leaders in Europe have really started to question this transatlantic relationship, which, while at times tense, has always been friendly enough to say, "When push comes to shove, we can rely on their tech." And now in recent weeks, you start to hear more seriously this conversation of like, "Well, what would we do if our tech was cut off, if we no longer had access to our email or to our cloud storage or to all of these things that American companies provide in Europe?"
- something is different in the air — 空気が変わっている
- dust-up /ˈdʌst ʌp/ 小競り合い、騒動
- Greenland — グリーンランド
- since the arrival of ～ — ～の登場以降
- Donald Trump — ドナルド・トランプ
- transatlantic relationship /ˌtrænzətˈlæntɪk/ 大西洋をまたぐ関係（米欧関係）
- at times — ときに
- when push comes to shove — いざというときには
- rely on /rɪˈlaɪ/ ～に頼る
- cut off — 遮断される
- have access to — ～にアクセスできる
- cloud storage — クラウド保存
Luke Vargas: I mean, is there actually any risk of that?
Sam Schechner: Well, the thing that these countries are confronting is that it is a very, very big lift to separate from U.S. tech. The dependency is just so enormous, not just in Europe, but throughout the Western world, that we're talking a project of decades, not something that you can do over the course of a few months. And so, an announcement like what France has done with new video conferencing software, or they have a kind of Google Docs replacement, I mean, those are achievable things, to get your government bureaucrats and other ministries working on a homegrown solution. And it's probably smart because if stuff did get cut off, you really don't want your government to be totally without any solutions. And if you look at the market share just for cloud services, cloud infrastructure in Europe, big data centers, what you have is the top five American providers have something like 83% market share, according to IDC. That's something that's going to take a long time to shift.
- confront /kənˈfrʌnt/ ～に直面する
- a very big lift — 非常に大きな負担・大事業
- dependency /dɪˈpendənsi/ 依存
- throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ ～全体にわたって
- over the course of ～ — ～の期間にわたって
- homegrown solution — 国産の解決策
- International Data Corporation (IDC) — IDC（米調査会社）
Luke Vargas: I mean, situate for us what we believe the vibe to be in Silicon Valley responding to all this.
Sam Schechner: I mean, I think they take it super seriously. Europe represents for these big companies upwards of a quarter of their revenue. I mean, it's no joke. It would be a bloodbath if they were cut off somehow from Europe. And this has been the case for quite some time. So they take it very seriously. And that's why they invest so heavily in Europe, so much infrastructure, so much staff. "Let's open an AI lab in Paris." Google's AI efforts are headquartered out of London. So, in that sense, the dependency does go both ways.
Luke Vargas: Sam, this tech decoupling is being led by governments like France to develop sovereign tech systems. But surely this also requires a strong private tech sector if there's any hope of rivaling the U.S.
- vibe /vaɪb/ 雰囲気
- upwards of ～ — ～以上
- bloodbath /ˈblʌdbæθ/ 大惨事、大打撃
- cut off from — ～から遮断される
- dependency goes both ways — 依存は双方向である
- tech decoupling — テックの分断
- sovereign tech systems — 主権的テックシステム
- rival /ˈraɪvəl/ 対抗する
Sam Schechner: The government is not going to build a tech ecosystem, whether they're buying a video conferencing thing for government workers or not. We're talking about technologies that are being built in the private sector. And so that's the whole game, right? Can Europe build and sustain a vibrant tech ecosystem on its own? And for technologies that already exist, like cloud services, that's something that's been won by the U.S., but is still important for Europe to catch up in. They don't need new technologies. They just need heavy investment to try to build something that could match the cost of servers run by big American companies. For the next tech revolution, there are very vibrant tech ecosystems here and there's a lot of startups. And when it comes to AI, I mean, one of the most recognized labs is actually a French lab, Mistral. And Chinese labs have shown you don't necessarily need all the resources. There's definitely an open field that AI provides that may give Europe an ability to leapfrog into this tech race. And so, I certainly wouldn't count Europe out of the tech race entirely.
- tech ecosystem — テック産業の生態系
- private sector — 民間部門
- sustain /səˈsteɪn/ 維持する
- vibrant /ˈvaɪbrənt/ 活気ある
- catch up — 追いつく
- match the cost of ～ — ～のコストに匹敵する
- tech revolution — 技術革命
- Mistral AI — フランスのAI研究所ミストラル
- leapfrog /ˈliːpfrɒɡ/ 飛び越す、先行者を追い抜く
- count ～ out — ～を除外する、見限る
- tech race — 技術競争
Luke Vargas: I've been speaking to Wall Street Journal Tech Reporter Sam Schechner. We've got to take a short break, but when we come back, we'll take a closer look at what digital sovereignty looks like for the man leading the charge in France. Stay with us.
Let's ditch the jargon and answer the question simply. What does sovereign tech really look like? Well, who better to ask than David Amiel, France's minister for state reform, who is on the line with us from Paris. David, define, in your words, how France and you see tech sovereignty. What does that mean?
- ditch the jargon — 専門用語をやめる
- sovereign tech — 主権的テクノロジー
- David Amiel — ダヴィッド・アミエル
- define /dɪˈfaɪn/ 定義する
David Amiel: Well, France has been pushing for a strategic autonomy at the European level for a long time. And in the world we live in, there is no strategic autonomy without tech sovereignty. It means three things. First, it means avoiding critical dependencies. And we need to strengthen our resilience in an unstable world on some specific parts of the tech sector. And second, we must ensure compliance with our values in order to preserve our democratic framework, in order to ensure consumer protection. The digital space is not the Wild West. As President Emmanuel Macron often says, we must protect the health of our children. We must keep on fighting against racism, hate speeches, anti-Semitism in social network. And that is in line with European regulation. And third, we must support European innovation, particularly, for instance, in cloud computing, in artificial intelligence, in data management, because these would be the key pillars of competitiveness in the future.
- strategic autonomy /strəˈtiːdʒɪk ɔːˈtɒnəmi/ 戦略的自律性
- tech sovereignty /tek ˈsɒvrənti/ テック主権
- avoid critical dependencies /əˈvɔɪd ˈkrɪtɪkəl dɪˈpendənsiz/ 重大な依存を避ける
- unstable world /ʌnˈsteɪbəl wɜːrld/ 不安定な世界
- democratic framework /ˌdeməˈkrætɪk ˈfreɪmwɜːrk/ 民主的枠組み
- consumer protection /kənˈsuːmər prəˈtekʃən/ 消費者保護
- the Wild West /ðə waɪld west/ 無法地帯
- hate speech /heɪt spiːtʃ/ ヘイトスピーチ
- social network /ˈsoʊʃəl ˈnetwɜːrk/ ソーシャルネットワーク
- artificial intelligence /ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃəl ɪnˈtelɪdʒəns/ 人工知能
- data management /ˈdeɪtə ˈmænɪdʒmənt/ データ管理
Luke Vargas: Just in terms of critical dependency and steps to reduce it, tell me about the push to shift government workers away from U.S. video conferencing platforms and how that fits into the wider strategy.
David Amiel: So, we need to rely on solutions we can master so we avoid service interruptions. So, in a way, to ensure our resilience, we put forward a solution that was designed both by research and development made by the French state, but also by French private companies. That's called Visio. And it incorporates the state-of-the-art video conferencing. And that's very important, because if you don't provide public agents with state-of-the-art solutions, there will be no adoption. And history is full of state-led projects that led to nowhere because of that. So it's very important for us to really rely on the strength and innovation of the private sector. So, our solution will be hosted by OUTSCALE. It comes from a Dassault Systèmes. There will be AI-powered meeting transcription using speaker separation technologies that is provided by pyannote, a French startup. And that will also do a lot to facilitate the daily workings of French public agents.
- critical dependency /ˈkrɪtɪkəl dɪˈpendənsi/ 重大な依存
- shift away from — ～から移行する
- master (v.) /ˈmæstər/ 制御する、使いこなす
- service interruption — サービス中断
- put forward — 提案する
- research and development (R&D) /rɪˈsɜːrtʃ ænd dɪˈveləpmənt/ 研究開発
- state-of-the-art /ˌsteɪt əv ði ˈɑːrt/ 最先端の
- adoption /əˈdɒpʃən/ 導入、普及
- state-led project — 国家主導プロジェクト
- hosted /ˈhoʊstɪd/ ホスティングされる
- AI-powered — AI搭載の
- meeting transcription — 会議の文字起こし
- speaker separation — 話者分離
- facilitate /fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/ 促進する、容易にする
- led to nowhere 「失敗に終わった」「何も成果を生まなかった」
Luke Vargas: So, what's next here? Is the French government going to back more tools? And are you going to try and convince the private sector to adopt this software?
David Amiel: Well, when you don't master a solution, you cannot ensure that it will be resilient in any state of the world, because there can be many, many crises in the years to come. We have witnessed some in the recent years. Think of COVID, think of the war in Ukraine, and so on. More specifically, it's really an issue of resilience on some things that are really related to the core functioning of the state.
Luke Vargas: I see that you wrote last year that in responding to President Trump's economic policies, confrontation in the digital field may be inevitable. You also said that Europe was becoming less frightened of wielding power when it comes to taking its technological future into its hands. But how much less frightened? And specifically, what if the steps you're taking get the attention of the White House and provoke U.S. anger?
- master (a solution) /ˈmæstər/ （解決策を）掌握・制御する
- ensure /ɪnˈʃʊr/ 確実にする
- resilient /rɪˈzɪliənt/ 強靭な、回復力のある
- core functioning of the state — 国家の中核的機能
- inevitable /ɪnˈevɪtəbl/ 避けられない
- wield power /wiːld ˈpaʊər/ 権力を行使する
- take ～ into its hands — ～を自らの手に握る
- provoke /prəˈvoʊk/ 引き起こす、挑発する
David Amiel: The sovereignty agenda, the strategic autonomy that we've been pushing is not new. France has been calling for a long time for more strategic autonomy of Europe. It has really been at the heart of what President Macron has been pushing for since his first election in 2017. And it was true also under other American administrations. I believe that in an instable world, it's very important that Europe asserts itself as a geopolitical power. And that is, I believe, good for everyone. And it's good for the U.S., but it's good for the world economy as well. Because the more Europe is an engine for world growth, the more I think it will benefit everybody.
- sovereignty agenda /ˈsɒvrənti əˈdʒendə/ 主権アジェンダ
- strategic autonomy /strəˈtiːdʒɪk ɔːˈtɒnəmi/ 戦略的自律性
- at the heart of ～ — ～の中心に
- Emmanuel Macron — エマニュエル・マクロン
- assert oneself /əˈsɜːrt/ 自己主張する、存在感を示す
- geopolitical power /ˌdʒiːoʊˈpɒlɪtɪkəl ˈpaʊər/ 地政学的大国
- instable (＝unstable) /ʌnˈsteɪbəl/ 不安定な（※正しくは unstable）
- engine for world growth — 世界成長の原動力
- benefit /ˈbenɪfɪt/ 利益をもたらす
Luke Vargas: I mean, this is still early days, but I'm curious what you've learned about that effort so far, what it's going to take for France if it wants to rival U.S. tech competition and cultivate its domestic industry.
David Amiel: Well, I believe also that we have to learn what works behind Europe, and especially in the U.S. When you look at what the U.S. has been really good at, there is no doubt that innovation is at the core of it. And when you look at the way the U.S. has engineered public and private partnership, the key role that has been played in the U.S. by major universities and research centers, that's also something that Europe, at the European level, because it's a relevant scale to act, I believe, on this innovation agenda, has to learn from.
- early days — まだ初期段階
- rival /ˈraɪvəl/ 対抗する
- cultivate /ˈkʌltɪveɪt/ 育成する
- at the core of ～ — ～の核心に
- engineer (v.) /ˌendʒɪˈnɪr/ 巧みに構築する
- public-private partnership — 官民連携
- major universities — 主要大学
- research centers — 研究機関
- relevant scale — 適切な規模
- innovation agenda — イノベーション政策
Luke Vargas: The U.S. president has also been very forceful in basically going out there and soliciting orders, for example, for Boeing planes as a part of trade deals around the world. Are we learning that that's kind of something that's necessary here? You've got to basically help your companies compete at the head-of-state level?
David Amiel: No, as you know, we don't believe in protectionism. I think that innovation also flourishes on trade, on exchange of ideas and so on. And that is really something that's at the heart also of the European economy to provide for this stable, open, predictive framework. And when you look at the comparative advantage of the European and of the French economy, I believe that's part of it.
- solicit orders /səˈlɪsɪt ˈɔːrdərz/ 受注を働きかける
- Boeing — ボーイング
- trade deal — 貿易協定
- head-of-state level — 国家元首レベル
- protectionism /prəˈtekʃənɪzəm/ 保護主義
- flourish /ˈflɜːrɪʃ/ 繁栄する、花開く
- exchange of ideas — アイデアの交流
- at the heart of ～ — ～の中核に
- predictive framework /prɪˈdɪktɪv ˈfreɪmwɜːrk/ 予測可能な枠組み
- comparative advantage /kəmˈpærətɪv ədˈvæntɪdʒ/ 比較優位
他国よりも「相対的に」効率よく生産できる分野
Luke Vargas: Finally, when you look across the French tech landscape, startups and slightly larger businesses that already exist, do you think already there is a company out there that will grow and become a global competitor to some of the big U.S. firms that we've talked about earlier? Or is that missing the point?
David Amiel: Definitely I believe that European should aim at creating European champions in tech. France is now the most attractive country in Europe for foreign investment. So the next frontier is really scaling up through supporting innovation, easing access to capital, streamlining certain regulations, and so on.
Luke Vargas: David Amiel is France's minister for state reform. Minister, thank you so much for being with us on What's News.
David Amiel: Thank you very much.
Luke Vargas: And that's it for What's News for February 22nd. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Hattie Moir, with supervising producers Sandra Kilhof and Melony Roy. I'm Luke Vargas, and we'll be back tomorrow morning with a brand new show. Until then, thanks for listening.
What’s News
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2026
2/21/2026 6:00:00 AMShare This Episode
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- Walmart /ˈwɔːlmɑːrt/ 米小売大手ウォルマート
- Omnicom /ˈɑːmnɪkɑːm/ 米広告大手オムニコム
- Moderna /məˈdɜːrnə/ 米バイオ企業モデルナ
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) /ˌef diː ˈeɪ/ 米食品医薬品局
- slump /slʌmp/ 急落する
- rally /ˈræli/ 上昇する（株価が）
- comeback /ˈkʌmbæk/ 復活
- strong earnings /strɔːŋ ˈɜːrnɪŋz/ 好決算
- cost cuts /kɔːst kʌts/ コスト削減
- boost /buːst/ 押し上げる