Cloud au Centre

Cloud au Centre ('Cloud at the Centre') is France's interministerial digital doctrine, published in 2021, that makes cloud the default mode of hosting for all new or substantially evolved state digital services. For sensitive data — systems whose violation could harm public order, public safety, or health — the doctrine mandates cloud services that hold SecNumCloud qualification from ANSSI or an equivalent European certification, and prohibits access by third-country (i.e. non-EU) state authorities. The 2021 circular governs all ministries, agencies, and state operators.

The first five-year assessment, published by DINUM in late 2025, confirmed that cloud consumption grew strongly and SecNumCloud established itself as the de facto trust benchmark for public-sector procurement. However, inter-ministerial pooling remained limited and budget constraints slowed adoption among some actors. Public procurement under the doctrine primarily benefited French providers and Microsoft — a tension the Health Data Hub Scaleway award directly addresses.

Cloud au Centre sits at the centre of French digital sovereignty strategy alongside SecNumCloud certification and the broader CAIDA legislative initiative at EU level. The doctrine's practical effect is that any European cloud provider seeking French public-sector contracts must either hold SecNumCloud qualification or demonstrate equivalent sovereign-cloud guarantees, reshaping the competitive landscape away from US hyperscalers for the most sensitive workloads.