An Invitation to Understanding

Whether you're an entrepreneur seeking inspiration, a policymaker crafting innovation strategies, an investor scouting opportunities, or simply someone curious about how nations adapt to technological change, this book offers insights into one of the most interesting tech transformations of our time.

The French Tech revolution is neither complete nor guaranteed to succeed. But it has already demonstrated something important: that different societies can forge their own paths to technological leadership, that innovation can coexist with social values, and that the future of technology will be written in many languages, not just one.

As we begin this journey through France's digital transformation, we invite you to see beyond stereotypes and statistics to understand how a nation renowned for wine and philosophy became a force in algorithms and artificial intelligence. The story that unfolds may surprise you—and it certainly offers lessons for anyone interested in how societies can thrive in the digital age.

Welcome to the French Tech revolution. Bienvenue à la révolution.# Chapter 2: The Minitel Era (1980s-2012)

On June 30, 2012, France Télécom finally switched off the last Minitel servers, ending a 30-year experiment that had connected millions of French citizens to the digital world before most Americans had even heard of the internet. The small beige terminals with their distinctive keyboard and monochrome screen had become as quintessentially French as the baguette or the béret. Yet Minitel's legacy extends far beyond nostalgia—it fundamentally shaped how France would approach digital innovation for decades to come.