In June 2026,Ifop conducted a survey on behalf of its partner Google Cloud among 1,501 residents of metropolitan France regarding digital sovereignty.
Key Findings of the Study
- Only 6% of respondents spontaneously associated digital technology with the concept of sovereignty. Furthermore, in terms of importance, digital sovereignty ranks at the bottom of the list (cited first by 4% of respondents) when compared to other types of sovereignty. The top of the list is dominated by economic, food, and energy sovereignty, cited first by 25%, 23%, and 12% of respondents, respectively.
- Regarding digital sovereignty, the first associations that come to mind are those of national or European independence (17%), followed by the concept of data protection (12%),artificial intelligence (11%), and finally foreign powers and GAFAM (10%). France’s digital sovereignty appears to be particularly important to the French when it comes to their administrative and health data (90% and 87%), and somewhat less so regarding data on their smartphones, in the cloud, at work, or on social media (between 59% and 79%).
- Security (25%), data protection (24%), and protection against cyberattacks (12%) are the top three criteria for choosing digital tools used by the French, followed by price (14%) and quality (10%), reflecting an undeniable need for guaranteed security.
- In the dilemma between digital sovereignty and technological efficiency, digital sovereignty wins by a narrow margin at 59%; however, nearly 3 out of 4 French people (74%) are convinced that a partnership between global and national players can help strengthen the country’s digital sovereignty.
- In terms of demographics, young people—particularly young men (under 35)—as well as executives are the most concerned about digital sovereignty issues. Regarding data security and protection: among young people—and particularly young men—global players are on equal footing with French players, though they do not enjoy a higher level of trust among this demographic.
- When weighing digital sovereignty against technological efficiency, innovation narrowly outweighs sovereignty among those under 35 (52%). And this group, which is particularly attached to the technological aspects of their digital tools, is even more convinced of the importance of a partnership between French and global players to strengthen France’s digital sovereignty (85% of those under 35, compared to 74% on average).
Find all the results in PDF format in the downloadable documents.
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