[A2k] Good French move to ODF

[Manon Ress]

As JR wrote, "my" people are leaders..
Manon

French gov't report recommends standardizing on ODF
Report says that all government documents should be made available in
OpenDocument Format
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/10/03/HNfrenchodf_1.html


By Peter Sayer, IDG News Service
October 03, 2006

All French government publications should be made available in
OpenDocument Format (ODF), according to a report commissioned by the
French prime minister.

In his report, "On Equal Terms," National Assembly Deputy Bernard
Carayon calls for a law making it compulsory for French government
departments to use ODF when they create or distribute documents, and
suggests that France ask its European partners to do likewise when
exchanging documents at a European level.

Carayon's report, submitted to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
on Sept. 14 and published late last week, is not just about ODF.

De Villepin asked Carayon to investigate how European businesses
could play a greater role in developing global industrial standards,
in order to level the economic playing field and reduce Europe's
economic dependance on other regions. Carayon's report carries no
legal weight, but French policy makers should take account of such
reports, which the prime minister can commission on a wide range of
matters.

In the report, Carayon also recommended the government fund a
research center dedicated to open-source software security, and set
up a system to help national and local government agencies exchange
information about best practice in the use of open-source software.

He also suggested that the European Union should create an agency
with the ambitious goal of ensuring its technological independence.

Separately, Carayon has also pushed for the French National Assembly
to give deputies the choice of proprietary or open-source software on
the workstations provided for them, beginning with the next
parliamentary session in 2007.




************************************************
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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