Government of France to focus on closing the digital divide in 2020

France Junior Minister for digital affairs Cedric O warned from moving from bureaucracy to online systems in a quick pace. He referred to the recent report that was published by the French Conseil d’analyse économique (CAE) which recommended that the government avoid the all-digital strategy in order to preserve the social bond in places that have not benefited from an increasingly digital world where more and more services have moved online. He stressed that the digital divide is serious in France and hence it should be the focus of the government in 2020 alongside promoting the startup sector which was one of Macron’s main pledges as he ran for president in 2017. O further explained that digital divide should be bridged through training and skills development rather than providing internet access to the entire country. This is because, for example, many social workers still lack digital skills to use some of the government services offered online.