France taps Mistral, shuts out OpenAI, to test its systems after tax hack

France has selected Mistral rather than OpenAI to test its systems following a hack affecting its tax administration, according to CryptoRank. The move places the French artificial intelligence company at the center of an effort to assess how AI tools could be used in a sensitive public-sector environment after the cyber incident.

Mistral is a France-based AI developer known for building large language models, the technology behind conversational and generative AI systems. OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, is one of the best-known companies in the same field. France’s reported decision highlights growing government interest in evaluating domestic and European AI providers for work involving public services and sensitive data.

Cybersecurity and data governance are major considerations when public authorities test AI systems, particularly where tax information may be involved. The reported choice of Mistral over OpenAI also reflects the broader debate in Europe over technological sovereignty, data control and the role of locally developed AI infrastructure in government operations.