“Sovereignty is the scepter, and cyber the sword”: An Interview with Bertrand Leblanc-Barbedienne, Founder of Souveraine Tech

Could you introduce Souveraine Tech to our readers?

Souveraine Tech is a non-profit association (Law 1901) founded in 2022, whose main activity is carried out through its namesake media outlet, dedicated to monitoring, defending, and illustrating technological sovereignty. The platform has published nearly one hundred in-depth interviews and organized two national colloquia in Saint-Malo—the first in 2023, the second in 2024. A third edition is scheduled for Friday, September 12 at the Palais du Grand Large in Saint-Malo. Souveraine Tech is followed by more than 38,000 people on LinkedIn and 20,000 on X.
It began as a small “media prelature,” as I like to say, which gradually became a genuine, albeit idiosyncratic, media outlet. Perhaps that is precisely what explains its success.

What are your objectives with this platform?

There are three main ones.

First: we aim to influence public decision-making. More than the pebble in the shoe, the gadfly, or the sacred goose of the Capitol, I like to say that Souveraine Tech is the bumblebee of these debates—the deep, steady drone of the orthodox chant.

Second: we seek to foster a fertile interplay among all actors—large and small, public and private—who are in some way engaged in defending or showcasing the technological interests of our country. Nothing powerful is ever born outside of this human lacework. We must therefore resist a certain French tendency where everyone fixates on their own sandcastle, rarely lifting their gaze to see what the neighbor’s spade or bucket might add to theirs.

Third: we work to raise public awareness of the stakes of technological sovereignty. You cannot change mindsets without speaking directly to our fellow citizens, who are not all graduates of engineering schools. To give one example: unless you take the time to lay out the context, simplify the terms, and set things in perspective, why should Mr. or Mrs. Everyone be concerned about where our health data is hosted?

And I would add a fourth goal: to fortify this platform, in the military-engineering sense of the term. That requires meeting the rare individuals who have both the will and the means to help give it shape.

What is your personal vision of sovereignty?

It is our most precious asset. The apple of our eye, as Saint John Paul II once said. Every honest republican should understand this. I am speaking of national sovereignty, of course—not the kind we are being inundated with these days. This so-called “European sovereignty” (sic), that oxymoron (of laughter), is a sad lexical coup that must be deconstructed.

There are sovereignties within Europe that can ensure the surge of power we so badly need. I am fond of the old notion of “condominium,” which could allow us to formalize smart agreements between sovereign nations—or between companies. Consider, for example, the immense potential in the cyber field of a Franco-Italian company like REEVO. This is the kind of ground we must build on—bottom-up, with agility and a sharp understanding of each party’s well-defined interests—to create our European champions.

I also believe that our vision of sovereignty is shifting from defensive to—fortunately—not offensive or aggressive, but assertive. The only thing sovereignty, like power, demands is to be exercised. We are only just beginning to understand this. The flip side of sovereignty ad intra is the spirit of conquest ad extra. And that is another story. My dear mother used to say of her three children when we were teenagers: “I unleash my roosters, and I watch over my hens!”

What do you place under the banner of “technological”?

Everything—absolutely everything that concerns a tool for which we must ask: should we acquire it, how should we use it, and for what purposes? Technology should not be confused with technique. To me, technology means taking an anthropological view of tools and methods. More than any other, AI invites us to the kind of broad perspective that this discipline demands.

How do you view the world of cyber?

Cyber is the rudder in stormy seas. It is a domain increasingly intertwined with sovereign prerogatives in our data-driven world. I like to say: sovereignty is the scepter, cyber is the sword.

Is technological sovereignty a political issue in your eyes?

It is the central political issue of our time. Why? Because as the holders of technological tools—Big Tech and the like—now exceed the power of the old nation-states, we must, faced with efficiency, performance, and optimization, prove capable of giving, time and again, force to law—and to law alone. That, and nothing else, is what European values mean.

Are there champions of sovereign tech you would like to mention?

I don’t only think of companies, though I cannot help but cite the French gem Whaller, close to my heart, as well as Nation Data Center, Icodia, Faveod, and CAC 40 giants such as Crédit Agricole and Worldline. But there are also schools like École 18.06, a true stable for champions. And finally, there are the privateers of sovereignty—spirited individuals like Nicolas Moinet, Arnaud de Morgny, Sébastien Tertrais, Philippe Chabrol, Camille Adam, Frédéric Pierruci, Arnaud Montebourg, Thomas Fauré, Philippe Latombe, Anaïs Voy-Gillis, Claude Revel… Those I forget to mention will, I trust, forgive me.

Why do you so often reference Saint-Malo in your communications?

Because that is where I founded Souveraine Tech—or rather, where I moored it! It is an exceptional place that restores courage when it is in short supply. A place steeped in history, that speaks to both our greatness and our fragility. The sea is always there, yet it also knows the battles of the great tides. Permanence, movement, struggle… it is a visitable absolute, one I rarely deprive myself of. I even plunge into it as long as the water stays above 13 degrees. Above all, Saint-Malo offers the perfect metaphorical tale when it comes to raising the flag of sovereignty. No local, attuned to the spirits hovering over the corsair city, could decently think of anything but to remain, to defend, and to conquer.

How do you assess public authorities’ action in cyber and sovereignty?

How to put it…? Room for improvement! Souveraine Tech has allowed me to weave a truly impressive network. The number of experts I’ve met—passionate, devoted to this country, sometimes to the point of self-sacrifice, in defense of its higher interests—is astonishing. And yet, these people are not always, alas, in a position to pull the levers that are instead entrusted to the “aspirants to the extra star on the kepi or the hood ornament” (a bit of assonance, isn’t it?).

I look forward to the music resuming around the game of musical chairs. Perhaps the time has come to place the right people in the right seats.

That said, and so as not to sound overly ironic, I greatly admire what ANSSI has achieved with the SecNumCloud framework. The State must simply follow through: it should clearly instruct public organizations to choose, by principle, certified solutions. You don’t train warhorses for the joust just to let them graze in the meadow while waiting for someone to lead them to victory!

Finally, could you tell us about the colloquium you are organizing this fall?

It will be our third, and this year we are dedicating it to the Army-Nation-Innovation nexus. I have heard here and there—without any flattery, I believe—that its line-up is “impressive.” I will let your readers form their own opinion on that. What I can promise them, if they honor us with their presence on Friday, September 12 at the Palais du Grand Large in Saint-Malo, is that they will leave enriched: with iodine, with memories, with encounters, with ideas, and perhaps also (surely) with calories—and with daring. See you in September!