France orders ministries to reduce digital provider costs via AI gains

The French Minister of Action and Public Accounts, David Amiel, has instructed ministries to reduce invoices from digital service providers. The move follows the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into software development, which has led to substantial productivity gains in the digital sector.

Minister Amiel noted that while these gains currently benefit state providers, it is inconsistent for the state to promote AI diffusion across administrations without capturing the resulting cost efficiencies. He has called for a dialogue with major digital providers to revise existing contracts and include periodic revision clauses in new agreements.

State spending in the digital domain has more than doubled since 2019, rising from 339 million euros to over 720 million euros for ministries alone. Additional spending of over 2.6 billion euros is attributed to various state operators, including the Banque de France and the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).