Palantir renews contract with French intelligence agency

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SouverainetéCyber-sécurité

By Léna Jauze

December 20, 2025

1 min

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The General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) has approved the extension of its contract with the American company Palantir for three years. This U.S. firm specializes in large-scale data analysis for intelligence purposes.

Since the Charlie Hebdo attacks on January 7, 2015, the DGSI has relied on the Gotham software developed by Palantir to centralize and process massive volumes of information from heterogeneous sources. This tool makes it possible to cross-reference surveillance data, human intelligence, administrative information, and technical sources.

This renewal comes amid a tense geopolitical context, marked by European states’ dependence on technologies developed outside their borders. In France, this collaboration regularly raises questions about data sovereignty and state autonomy. U.S. legislation, in particular, fuels these concerns: theCloud Act allows U.S. authorities to demand access to certain data held by American companies. This also applies when the data is stored on servers located abroad.

French authorities nonetheless claim that technical and legal safeguards govern the use of the software and that the data exploited by the DGSI remains under national control. Moreover, internal security officials justify this renewal as a temporary solution and are considering the development of a sovereign tool capable of replacing foreign solutions. For the time being, however, Palantir occupies a position that is difficult to bypass.

The company is nevertheless regularly criticized by human rights organizations and investigative media outlets. Its technologies have been used in police surveillance programs, migration management, and military operations. These uses raise concerns about potential abuses, such as mass surveillance and infringements on fundamental freedoms. Palantir disputes these accusations and claims it merely provides tools, leaving states responsible for how they are used.

With this renewed contract, France is extending a strategic choice that illustrates the tension between security imperatives and technological dependence. A fragile balance, ten years after the attacks that accelerated this rapprochement.

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