France, April 17 -- The plan was announced on 8 April by the Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs, the body that manages IT systems across ministries and public administrations. It involves changing the core software that runs thousands of state computers.

Windows, owned by US company Microsoft, is the most widely used computer operating system in the world. Windows 11 alone powers more than 1 billion computers worldwide.

Linux is a free system developed in Finland in 1991, and is open-source, meaning anyone can use, modify and share it.

"A free software system means you can see how it works, which guarantees transparency, but it is also collectively owned," digital security specialist Fabrice Epelboin told RFI. "...