Luke Vargas

And instead, government workers were to use a homegrown communication tool developed by the French state.

The move is just the latest example of a growing tech sovereignty trend as countries seek to build their own digital technologies from communications platforms to AI systems, cloud networks, or even chips, and reduce their dependence on the U.S.

private sector.

Coming up, we'll speak to the man leading France's digital sovereignty push and talk to journal tech reporter Sam Schechner about what it could all mean for Silicon Valley.

Let's get right to it.

Well, the French state may be eager to cut the cord on Silicon Valley, but will digital sovereignty actually become more than a slogan?

And what's at stake here for U.S.

tech?

Journal tech reporter Sam Schechner joins me now.

Sam, set the scene for us.

What is digital sovereignty and why is everyone in Europe these days talking about it?

I mean, is there actually any risk of that?

I mean, situate for us what we believe the vibe to be in Silicon Valley responding to all this.

Sam, this tech decoupling is being led by governments like France to develop sovereign tech systems.

But surely this also requires a strong private tech sector if there's any hope of rivaling the U.S.

I've been speaking to Wall Street Journal tech reporter Sam Schechner.

We've got to take a short break, but when we come back, we'll take a closer look at what digital sovereignty looks like for the man leading the charge in France.

Stay with us.

Let's ditch the jargon and answer the question simply.

What does sovereign tech really look like?