French NATIONAL DIGITAL SECURITY STRATEGY — objective 5 STAKES C yberspace has become a major subject for negotiation within international organisations whose work now concerns the entire digital field. In 2013, the States acknowledged that far from being a space without rules, cyberspace was governed by existing international law. Despite this, the international normative framework is still being debated, which, without any advancement in negotiations, could harm the preservation of a stable safe cyberspace that is compliant with the fundamental laws and is appropriate for the development of a prosperous trustworthy economy in the digital era. While an increasing number of countries are declaring themselves equipped with offensive capabilities, the level of conflict between States is increasingly being expressed in cyberspace. In addition, the massive revelations of practices and espionage techniques carried out by major States or alliances of States against other States (sometimes allies), people and businesses, have increased the political mistrust of countries that are at the origin of these practices and technical mistrust of their products and services. These revelations also contribute to the proliferation of similar technical methods. In parallel, groups of individuals with diverse motivations and supports, mercenaries recruited worldwide and associated according to the circumstances, regularly take recourse in cyberattacks to attempt to destabilise the governing authorities of many countries or businesses that symbolise them. In addition, terrorist organisations take advantage of the audience provided by social networks to disseminate propaganda intended to attract volunteers and terrorise the populations. These different groups benefit from continuous media impact. On the economic level, the trend at the beginning of the decade is being confirmed. A small number of businesses supported by the States which enabled their development use their technological 38 « Although it supports world growth, cyberspace has become a place of conflict and often unfair competition » advance, their domination on the market and their financial capacities to pre-empt digital innovation. This privatisation of cyberspace to the benefit of a few monopolies condemns the other stakeholders in digital technology to dependence and harnesses a share of the added value of digital technology that is too great for this situation to be bearable for the economies of the other countries. Although it supports world growth, cyberspace has become a place of conflict and often unfair competition, which until now has been one of low intensity in terms of information technology, and of political destabilisation and economic hegemony. Europe has been able to identify these issues and through dialogue and regulations is trying to provide ideas and solutions that are more respectful of sustainable digital development, both in terms of Internet governance and protection of personal data or cybersecurity of the operators who are essential to the economy. Despite having adopted a cybersecurity strategy in 2013, Europe is still struggling to assert digital strategic autonomy and equip itself with the tools required to re-balance cyberspace in its favour, even though this subject is now on the agenda for many European centres for discussions and negotiations. Because it shares common values with other EU Member States, France and these Member States should play a driving role in digital technology. France wants to participate in the digital transformation of Europe through alliances. Europe built itself in the past through an alliance based on raw materials. Digital Europe will build itself on alliances, trust and data control, the raw materials of the coming decades.