France and Germany unveil Docs, a homegrown alternative to Google Docs

TL;DR: French and German governments recently announced Docs, a collaborative writing and information-sharing service designed for use on the cloud or offline. Positioned as a potential alternative to Google Docs, Outline, and similar tools, Docs emphasizes “simplicity” and security for EU professionals looking to move away from US-made products.

The Trump administration has set out to drastically reshape the relationship between the US and Europe. In response, Brussels is scrambling to adapt to this new reality, seeking new alliances with foreign powers and exploring alternative technology solutions. Nothing appears to be immune to this shift, not even traditional online tools for collaboration and document editing.

While its official introduction avoids overt political messaging, the project can certainly be seen as a political statement from two of Europe’s largest powers.

Docs is a joint initiative by France’s Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs and Germany’s Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration. Both organizations are committed to funding digital sovereignty projects, and they developed Docs as a collaboration tool for European agencies and businesses.

As an open-source project, Docs is readily available on GitHub, allowing anyone to download and test its code. The tool is built using Django Rest, Next.js, BlockNotes.js, and other open-source frameworks, and it can be deployed on cloud servers or used offline.

Currently in beta, Docs is accessible through France’s ProConnect identity service, and a test environment is available for users to explore its features using login credentials provided by the developers on GitHub.

Docs aims to deliver an “uncompromising” and intuitive writing experience, according to its developers, featuring a minimalist interface where content takes precedence over layout. The platform includes all the essential collaboration features, such as real-time editing, keyboard shortcuts, offline mode, and media import. It also offers granular access controls, allowing users to securely share specific information with the right people.

Documents and projects can be exported in three different formats with customizable templates: PDF, Word, and OpenDoc. The tool also includes a built-in wiki feature to help teams organize knowledge and collaboration terminology. Upcoming features still in development include subpages, an advanced search function, and the ability to pin important documents.

Docs is released under the permissive MIT license, allowing both commercial and private use. While the project is primarily a public-sector initiative led by government organizations DINUM and ZenDiS, private entities are encouraged to use, contribute to, or even commercialize the open-source code available on GitHub.