France is moving its national health data platform away from Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure to a domestic provider, in a decision shaped by data protection and sovereignty concerns.
The country has selected Scaleway, part of Iliad, to host its Health Data Hub, replacing Microsoft Azure, which had been chosen for the project in 2019.
The Health Data Hub is designed to store and manage large volumes of national health data and provide access for research and innovation. It builds on France’s National Health Data System (SNDS), one of the largest health databases in Europe, bringing together reimbursement data and other healthcare information covering tens of millions of citizens.
The project has been under scrutiny for several years. France’s data protection authority, CNIL, raised concerns about data privacy, security and legal control, particularly linked to the use of a US-based cloud provider.
A key issue was jurisdiction. Even when data is stored within France, using a non-European provider could expose it to foreign legislation, including potential access requests under US law. French authorities also questioned how control over highly sensitive medical data could be guaranteed in such a setup.
In response, France introduced new rules in 2024 requiring “sovereign-guaranteed” hosting for certain categories of sensitive public data. Earlier this year, the government confirmed its intention to move the Health Data Hub away from Microsoft by the end of 2026.
The platform is expected to become fully operational between late 2026 and early 2027, with the aim of improving access to health data for researchers while maintaining strict safeguards.
This migration is part of a long-standing effort to maintain a high level of security and trust for all platform users. It marks an important step in accelerating the use of SNDS data and, more broadly, all research and innovation projects based on health data in France and Europe.
Hela Ghariani, Director of the Health Data Platform
France’s decision reflects a broader shift across Europe, where governments are reassessing their reliance on large non-European technology providers in public systems. Several countries, including Germany, Denmark, Italy and Austria, are exploring or implementing alternatives, including open-source solutions such as LibreOffice and Linux.
At EU level, this direction has also been reinforced through investment decisions, with the European Commission awarding a €180 million cloud contract to a consortium including Scaleway, OVHcloud, STACKIT and Post Telecom.
According to the European Commission, the large-scale use of EU-based cloud services is essential for strengthening Europe’s digital sovereignty. The Commission also points to its own approach, noting that the Sovereign Cloud tender sets a practical benchmark for how “sovereign” cloud services should be defined and implemented.
The move signals a growing focus on keeping critical data and digital infrastructure within European legal and regulatory frameworks.
24.04.2026.
