French Finance Minister David Amiel has asked government ministries to revisit their contracts with state IT service providers, according to Les Echos. The Ministry of Finance has requested that ministries revise the units of work charged in these contracts and include clauses for periodic price reviews in future agreements. In addition, the ministry has sent letters to various institutions, including the Bank of France, the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA), and social security funds, all of which fall under the supervision of different government departments. Digital spending by government ministries has more than doubled since 2019, rising from 339 million euros to over 720 million euros. When combined with the 2.6 billion euros spent by state operators, the total cost has grown significantly. The bill for digital service providers has also doubled since 2022. Starting this academic year, ministries are required to engage in discussions with their digital suppliers regarding these new pricing conditions. A circular signed by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne in early 2023 aimed to regulate the use of external consulting firms, following the controversial McKinsey affair. However, this did not stop the overall expenditure on digital service companies (ESN) from doubling, increasing from 1.7 billion euros in 2022 to 3.4 billion euros by 2025. The business model of digital service companies is now being questioned due to the rise of artificial intelligence, according to Numeum, a professional union in the sector. The union raised concerns in June about how AI, which can cut development time in half, might affect billing based on time spent. A study by METR, cited by Les Echos, found that tasks performed by experienced developers using AI actually took 19% longer than expected in real-world projects. To address these challenges, the State's procurement department will collaborate with the interministerial digital direction (DINUM) to create a unified framework for ministries, ensuring that no administration negotiates alone with its service providers. In June, the Ministry of Economy and Finance established the Direction of Artificial Intelligence and Digital (DIAN), which oversees the digital transformation of economic and financial administrations, including customs and taxation. The government has also rolled out Albert, a conversational AI assistant, to around one million public officials. Designed by DINUM using open-source models like Llama 3 and Mistral, hosted in France, Albert helps officials draft reports and respond to user inquiries. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced an additional 655 million euros to support AI development in the public administration. A May study by Cigref, an association of digital directors from major French companies, and Asterès, a research firm, estimated that European organizations could face annual costs of up to 140 billion euros by 2030 due to rising cloud and software prices. The study noted that cloud and software costs have increased by an average of 8.7% per year over the past three years, while only 23% of surveyed digital directors reported immediate productivity gains from AI. The government is pushing for the state to benefit from these productivity gains as well, with one ministerial source telling Les Echos that "we need to seek the gains where they are."