France’s internal security agency has ended its contract with AI war firm Palantir. Prime minister Sebastian Lecornu said French rival firm ChapVision would work with the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) moving forward.
Palantir remains deeply embedded in UK state infrastructure despite the Commons technology select committee calling for the government to divest on 4 June.
Politico reported on 16 June:
Palantir has faced criticism in Europe for its close ties to the U.S. administration, as the bloc seeks to wean off U.S. technology for everything from sensitive cloud to AI, social media and public software services.
ChapsVision was already involved in a partnership launched in 2022 to support security services including intelligence, customs and law enforcement.
Politico also reported that Germany had chosen ChapsVision over Palantir.
However, Palantir said the DGSI deal “remains fully in force” and:
continues under the existing contractual commitments and in full compliance with the highest standards of security, data protection, regulatory compliance and transparency.
Palantir: UK must divest too
In their 4 June report, the UK Science, Innovation and Technology Committee urged the government to:
exercise the 2027 break clause in the NHS Federated Data Platform Contract with Palantir and either develop an in-house replacement or seek an alternative UK provider.
The UK military, police, NHS and, allegedly, the Telegraph newspaper have started to use Palantir technology. The firm is also involved inIsrael’s genocide in Gaza, and maintains a permanent desk in southern Israel. Trump’s paramilitary immigration operationsalso use the firm’s gear.
The Canary reported on 2 June that UK officials are even using Palantir software to decide what Palantir technology to buy to fight future wars.
And as the Canary reported on 20 April, Palantir’s ‘manifesto’ is a collection of far-right tropes more suited to a far-right manosphere podcast than a multinational arms firm.
Green Party peer Natalie Bennett posted on X that the UK should follow the French example:
#PalantirOut – if the French can do it surely we can toohttps://t.co/2iY8fDjdP7
— Natalie Bennett (@natalieben) June 16, 2026
Entrepreneur Arnaud Bertrand warned:
ALL countries currently using Palantir should do the same: you are, quite simply, not a sovereign country if you let your national data infrastructure depend on the goodwill of a company with such a clear political agenda.
At this stage this isn’t even a sovereignty question, it’s a sanity test.
Wow, this is a huge and – rare for France these days – a genuinely good move: France’s intelligence services (DGSI) are terminating their contract with Palantir in favor of a domestic alternative (source: https://t.co/TEoJxh1Z3h).
I posted about this multiple times. See post… https://t.co/J7vTbPQc8G pic.twitter.com/aAmMmHXphn
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) June 16, 2026
The current UK government has cosied up with Palantir despite numerous criticisms. France and Germany have now divested. Keir Starmer must be pressured to follow suit. A genocide-linked death firm should have no foothold whatsoever in the UK. And these European examples demonstrate there is no need to give it one.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
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