70,000 computers of the French Gendarmerie will transition to using Firefox and Mozilla’s email client, Thunderbird. Christian Brachet, the technology director of the Gendarmerie, stated that the choice of Firefox was based on its user-friendliness, security, and compatibility with other systems used within the organization.
The transition is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
According to a survey by Xiti, Firefox currently holds about 18% of the browser market share in France. This is a notable figure compared to the 20% market share in Europe and 38% in Finland. The Gendarmerie’s adoption of Firefox is anticipated to spark a new trend for open-source software, particularly web browsers in France and across Europe. The French police even envision a future where every citizen can report theft online (Firefox is a free browser).
The trend towards open-source software is not new. At the end of 2005, the entire police force transitioned to using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, currently utilizing version 1.4, with version 2.0 set to launch in March. This change saves the police 2 million euros annually.
Many other departments in France are also expected to switch to open-source software this year. By the second quarter of 2006, approximately 80,000 more computers will be converted, a significant portion of which will belong to the tax department.
However, no decision has yet been made regarding the transition from Windows to Linux. There remains a considerable gap for Linux in terms of reaching the end-user market.
TRẦN HUY
