France and Germany plan European alternative to US Palantir military software

France and Germany announced a joint effort to develop a European sovereign digital defence infrastructure as an alternative to the United States‑based Palantir software used for military data analysis. The initiative, unveiled after a meeting between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, will focus on artificial‑intelligence, cloud computing and secure data management solutions sourced from European companies.

The French internal intelligence service has already ended its Palantir contract, while German intelligence selected the French platform ChapsVision for part of its needs. Both nations highlighted the French Arcadia platform and comparable German developments as potential building blocks. The declaration also mentioned plans for a European standard for joint combat operations and a research programme on autonomous battlefield systems.

The move aims to reduce reliance on U.S. technology in defence and intelligence, strengthen data sovereignty, and foster closer Franco‑German cooperation on future weapons and digital capabilities.