Key takeaways
- GDPR does not prohibit using foreign cloud services, but it requires guarantees that most American tools cannot provide since the Cloud Act came into force
- For sensitive documents (contracts, client data, confidential reports), hosting in France with a European AI model is the simplest way to comply
- Sovereign alternatives exist today that rival American tools in quality
Let’s not beat around the bush: most French businesses store their most sensitive documents on American servers. Contracts, client data, financial reports, confidential exchanges. All of it in Google Drive, Dropbox, or SharePoint Online, hosted in the United States or Ireland.
For a long time, nobody really worried about it. GDPR was an administrative formality, a cookie banner and a privacy policy that nobody read.
Things have changed. Significantly.
The concrete problem
Take a consulting firm that stores its deliverables in Google Drive. Among those documents: strategic analyses for a CAC 40 client, sensitive financial data, due diligence reports.
Those files are hosted on Google’s servers. Google is an American company, subject to the Cloud Act. The US government can request access to that data without notifying the client, without going through French courts, and without the firm being informed.
This is not a theoretical scenario. It has been the law since 2018.
For a consulting firm that charges for its confidentiality, for an agency that manages its clients’ data, for a lawyer or notary bound by professional secrecy, this is a risk that is becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
What GDPR says in practice
GDPR does not prohibit using services hosted outside Europe. It imposes conditions:
- Legal basis for transfer. In 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU invalidated the Privacy Shield (Schrems II ruling), the main agreement that authorised data transfers between Europe and the United States. A new framework (the Data Privacy Framework) was adopted in 2023, but its legal robustness is challenged by several legal experts and associations, particularly because the Cloud Act has not changed.
- Impact assessment. You must demonstrate that the destination country offers a level of protection “essentially equivalent” to that of the EU. As long as the Cloud Act is in force, this demonstration remains fragile for the United States.
- Controller liability. You are the one responsible, not your provider. If your data is compromised through Cloud Act access, it is your company that is in breach of GDPR.
In practice GDPR does not say “host in France”. It says “guarantee an adequate level of protection”. For sensitive business data, hosting in France is simply the most direct and safest way to achieve this.
The Cloud Act: the real issue
The Cloud Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act), adopted in 2018, authorises US authorities to demand access to data stored by American companies, regardless of the country where that data is hosted.
In concrete terms: even if Google hosts your files in a data centre in Belgium, the Cloud Act applies. Google is an American company, and is therefore subject to this law.
What makes the situation particularly concerning:
- No mandatory notification. The American company may be required not to inform you about the access request.
- No direct recourse. You have no say in the proceedings. It is between the US government and the provider.
- Broad scope. The Cloud Act is not limited to criminal investigations. It also covers economic intelligence.
The options for French businesses
The good news: the French cloud and AI ecosystem has strengthened considerably in recent years. Credible alternatives now exist that no longer require compromising on quality.
Sovereign hosting
French infrastructure providers offer 100% French hosting, in data centres located in France, operated by companies not subject to the Cloud Act.
Sovereign AI
Mistral, a French company, offers high-performing AI models that can be deployed on European infrastructure. You no longer need to send your data to OpenAI or Google to benefit from AI.
Choice, not constraint
For some businesses, total sovereignty is essential (regulated professions, critical data). For others, SaaS hosted in France with a choice of AI model is the right trade-off: you decide for yourself whether you prefer a French model or an American one depending on your use case.
The key point The question is not “French or American”. It is “who decides?” If you are the one choosing where your data is hosted and which AI model processes it, you are in control. If your provider decides for you, you have a problem.
This is the approach we chose for Archesia. In SaaS mode, your data is hosted in France, and you choose the AI model that suits you. For organisations with stricter requirements (regulated professions, critical data), Archesia can also be installed directly on your own servers, for complete control. In both cases, GDPR compliance is built in by design, not by configuration. Discover the three hosting modes in detail or contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Does GDPR prohibit using Google Drive for business?
No, GDPR does not formally prohibit it. But it requires protection guarantees that Google, as an American company subject to the Cloud Act, struggles to fully provide. For non-sensitive documents, the risk is low. For confidential data (contracts, client data, financial reports), the risk is real.
What does "sovereign hosting" mean?
Hosting is considered "sovereign" when data is stored on servers located in France (or Europe), operated by a company not subject to foreign extraterritorial laws (such as the Cloud Act). Several French sovereign hosting providers operate in this space.
Is Mistral as capable as GPT or Claude?
For document-related tasks in French (semantic search, summarisation, analysis), Mistral delivers comparable performance. Its main advantage is that it can be deployed on French infrastructure, ensuring your data never leaves the country.
Is my SMB really affected by the Cloud Act?
The Cloud Act applies regardless of company size. In practice, the risk is proportional to the sensitivity of your data. If you store client contracts, financial data, or confidential information in an American tool, you are affected.