French urged to adopt OpenDocument format

A REPORT commissioned by the French prime minister has called for the country's bureaucrats to adopt the OpenDocument Format.

The report, "On Equal Terms," was penned by National Assembly Deputy Bernard Carayon.

He calls for a law making it compulsory for French government departments to use ODF when they create or distribute documents. Carayon also wants France to ask its European partners to follow suit.

Carayon send his report to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and although no one has to pay any attention to it, often these sorts of things end up being part of someone's policy.

Another thing that Carayon wanted was for the government fund an Open Source research centre to improve open-source software security. He also called for the European Union should create an agency with the ambitious goal of ensuring its technological independence.

If the report is adopted then Microsoft would have a fair bit to worry about and a team of Voles are probably boarding a plane to Paris as we speak. µ