Why French Tech Is Playing Not to Lose
Stop Settling for the Crumbs
There’s an uncomfortable truth in French tech. One that doesn’t get talked about much in conferences or demo days. One that’s quietly baked into a lot of the strategies, funding rounds, and product roadmaps.
Most French tech entrepreneurs are not playing to win. They’re playing not to lose.
They build nice, safe products. They avoid risk. They target the French market, maybe Europe if they’re feeling bold. They slap “sovereign” stickers on their infrastructure and call it innovation.
But let’s be honest: that’s not innovation. It’s insurance.
And it’s killing our chances to matter.
The Safety Bubble
A lot of French startups don’t dream of being global leaders. They don’t set out to compete with the best in the world. They design around constraints. Around regulation. Around what’s “acceptable.” Around what the French government might subsidize.
And for a while, that works. You can build a decent company by playing it safe. Get a few French customers. Raise a seed round. Maybe land a grant from the government innovation bank. Position yourself as “GDPR-compliant,” “cloud sovereign,” “data hosted in Europe.”
Yay. The state might give you a pat on the back. However, no CAC 40 company will buy your product (way too risky to work with you), but if you’re lucky, you’ll land a few scale-ups.
Meanwhile, somewhere in California, someone is building the product that your customers will switch to as soon as they need something that actually moves fast, scales globally, or breaks new ground.
This is the real issue: French entrepreneurs are incentivized to build for compliance, not for users.
And that’s how you end up with European companies that are five years behind their American counterparts, but proudly calling themselves “local alternatives.” They sometimes go as far as making other entrepreneurs feel guilty for using a non-French technology provider because it’s better — especially in those complicated times.
That’s not ambition. That’s surrender in disguise.
Sovereignty Is Not a Product Strategy
Let’s talk about the word that gets thrown around a lot lately: sovereignty.
Yes, it’s important that we have control over critical infrastructure. Yes, data security matters. But it’s not a business model. It’s not differentiation.
You don’t win by saying “we’re like AWS, but French.”
You don’t win by saying “we’re like OpenAI, but hosted in Europe.”
You don’t win by saying “we’re like GitHub, but on OVH.”
You win by solving problems better. By innovating. By taking the risk to challenge the status quo.
Sovereign hosting is a checkbox. It’s not a moat.
What frustrates me is that they use it as a crutch. As a justification for not competing with the leaders. As an excuse to stay in their comfort zone and call it strategy.
Meanwhile, the world is moving. And they’re watching.
The US Is Still the Market to Beat
There’s a pattern I see all the time: French startups that refuse to even consider entering the US market.
“It’s too crowded.”
“It’s too expensive.”
“We’ll start with France. Then maybe Germany. Then maybe UK.”
But here’s the thing: the US is the only market that can validate your product at scale. It’s where the fastest companies live. The most demanding customers. The strongest competitors.
If you’re not building with the intention of competing there, what are you doing?
Sure, it’s hard. Sure, you’ll probably get punched in the face. But that’s where you learn. That’s where you improve. That’s where you build something that matters globally — not just locally.
Avoiding the US is not a cautious strategy. It’s a self-imposed ceiling.
French Tech Has the Talent. What’s Missing Is the Fire.
I’m not saying we don’t have the brains. Or the skills. Or the creativity.
We do.
I’ve worked with incredible engineers, designers, product thinkers in France. People who could work anywhere in the world.
But too often, the culture around them is one of caution, not ambition. One where failure is seen as shameful, not as a stepping stone. One where fundraising is seen as the end goal, not the fuel for building something bold.
And when that’s the vibe — guess what? You get safe products. You get local clones. You get decks that talk more about “sovereignty” than about solving user problems in new and interesting ways.
You don’t get industry leaders. You don’t get Snowflakes or Stripes or Notions.
And that’s a shame. Because we could.
We Need to Build Like We Mean It
If we want to matter in the next decade of tech, we need to stop building like we’re afraid.
We need founders who want to win — not just survive.
We need investors who back risky, ambitious plays — not just safe, incremental growth.
We need products that start by targeting the world’s best users — not just the few who care about local hosting.
And yes, we’ll need to fail more. That’s part of the deal.
But at least we’ll be failing forward. Not settling for second place.
Closing
I know this is an unpopular opinion. I know it sounds harsh. But I say this because I want us to do better.
French tech doesn’t lack talent. It lacks urgency. It lacks the hunger to build something that doesn’t just exist — but leads.
And until we face that, we’ll keep getting the crumbs.