Qwant
French privacy-first search engine; European Parliament's default from 4 June 2026, replacing Google.
Last refreshed: 10 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Is the European Parliament's Qwant switch a sovereignty signal or a search engine?
Timeline for Qwant
Installed as default search engine across European Parliament devices
European Tech Sovereignty: Parliament drops Google for Qwant search- Why did the European Parliament switch to Qwant from Google?
- The Parliament switched on 4 June 2026 citing digital sovereignty and personal data protection. Qwant does not track users or build personal profiles, and is hosted on EU infrastructure. Users retained the option to revert to their previous search engine.Source: European Parliament
- Is Qwant a good search engine alternative to Google?
- Qwant offers privacy-focused search without user tracking or profiling, hosted on EU infrastructure. Its results quality has historically lagged Google's, though it has improved by incorporating Bing's index for some queries. It holds a small share of the European search market.
- Who owns Qwant and who funds it?
- Qwant is a French company backed in part by Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, and has also had investment from Axel Springer. It is headquartered in Paris.
- Which EU institutions use Qwant as their search engine?
- As of 4 June 2026, the European Parliament uses Qwant as the default search engine on all 720 MEP and staff computers across Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.Source: European Parliament
Background
Qwant is a French search engine founded in 2013 as a privacy-preserving, European-sovereign alternative to Google. It does not track users, does not build personal profiles and is hosted on infrastructure within the European Union. The company is headquartered in Paris and has historically been backed by French public investment via Bpifrance and German media group Axel Springer, though its shareholding has evolved over the years.
On 4 June 2026 the European Parliament replaced Google with Qwant as the default search engine on all 720 MEP and staff computers, covering Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox browsers. Users were notified by email and retained the option to revert. The Parliament cited digital sovereignty and personal data protection as the rationale. The move came one day after COREPER authorised the EU to join the Pax Silica semiconductor alliance, making it a symbolic counterpoint: the bloc accepted deep chip dependency on the US at the infrastructure layer while asserting sovereignty at the desktop.
Qwant occupies a structurally small share of the European search market against Google, which holds over 90% across most EU member states. The Parliament's switch is significant as institutional endorsement and as a procurement signal, but it does not alter Qwant's competitive position materially. The DMA's ongoing proceedings against Google (including an order to open search data) may reshape the environment Qwant competes in more consequentially than any single deployment.
