A sovereign Google Docs: writing together, in Europe
Writing together as in Google Docs, without handing your documents to a US company: it can be done. Here are the options, and the questions to ask each of them, Paginel included.
Create an account Create my account My documents See the table
In short Which one should you choose?
French state administration
Docs from La Suite numérique: hosted under SecNumCloud, open source, free for state employees.
Sensitive data
CryptPad (France): end-to-end encrypted, the host cannot read. Or an open-source suite on your own servers.
Companies, Word documents, outside guests
Paginel: hosted in France, compatible with Word, guests with a code; self-hosting planned. No SecNumCloud qualification.
In detail What really changes
Data in Europe is not the same as sovereign
Google offers European data regions and client-side encryption on its most expensive plans. But Google remains a US company, subject to the CLOUD Act: US law can require it to hand over data wherever it is stored. S3NS, the joint venture of Thales and Google, has held SecNumCloud qualification since December 2025 for Google Cloud infrastructure; we found no Google Workspace offer under that qualification.
What Paginel promises, and what it does not
- French company, servers in France. We do not read your documents, do not sell them, and do not train any model with them.
- The server opens documents to make them work (merging changes, applying rights, exporting): this is not end-to-end encryption.
- No SecNumCloud qualification, no ISO 27001 or HDS certification.
- Emails are sent by Resend (a US company, server in Ireland). Signing in with Microsoft or Google is optional.
- For companies: a dedicated server in France, or Paginel installed on your servers with no call to us at all (planned after the beta).
Honestly What Paginel does not do (yet)
- Paginel is in beta, open to everyone and free. It is a young product.
- No qualification or certification yet: no SecNumCloud, no ISO 27001, no HDS. Encryption of every file on the document server is in preparation.
- Installing Paginel on your own servers (Enterprise plan) is planned after the beta: it is not available yet.
- Paginel is not open source: its code is not published.
- Tables cannot be edited yet: tables in a
.docxshow as plain lines (cells separated by tabs), on screen and in the PDF. Saving into the original file keeps them intact. A document full of tables is not for Paginel yet. - No track changes and no suggestion mode. Comments exist in Paginel, but are not yet written into the
.docx.
The table The questions to ask
| Paginel | Google Docs | La Suite Docs | CryptPad | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | France. | United States. | French state (DINUM). | France (XWiki SAS). |
| Data in France or Europe | Yes In France. | Partly European data regions, depending on the Workspace plan. | Yes In France. | Partly Depends on the instance you choose. |
| Outside the CLOUD Act | Yes Yes, for documents; emails go through Resend (a US company). | No | Yes | Yes |
| SecNumCloud | No | No No: S3NS is qualified for Google Cloud infrastructure, not for Workspace. | Yes (lead) Qualified hosting. | No |
| End-to-end encrypted | No | Partly Client-side encryption in Enterprise Plus. | No | Yes (lead) |
| Open source | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Word files | Yes (lead) Read and written faithfully. | Partly Opened, approximate layout. | Partly Import and export. | Partly Import and export, limited fidelity. |
| On your own servers | Coming soon Planned. | No | Yes | Yes |
Yes : the highlighted word marks the lead on that point.
. Our rule: say when another tool will suit you better, and what Paginel does not do yet. Spotted a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a sovereign Google Docs?
Yes, several: Docs from La Suite numérique for the French state, CryptPad for sensitive data, Collabora or ONLYOFFICE on your own servers, and Paginel for Word documents written with outsiders.
Is Google Docs GDPR compliant?
Google offers contractual commitments and European data regions; the CLOUD Act question remains for any US company. For an answer about your case, ask your data protection officer.
Is Paginel SecNumCloud qualified?
No. If that qualification is required, La Suite numérique (for the French state) or a solution installed on qualified hosting are the right choices.
Try Paginel
The beta is open and free: create your account in a minute.
Create an account Create my account My documents See pricing
Other comparisons
- Word alternatives Free, online, offline: six ways to work without a Word subscription.
- Google Docs alternatives European, French or open source: who does what, and for whom.
- Word vs Google Docs The classic match-up, with Paginel as a third column.
- Word vs Paginel The same .docx file, two ways of working.
- Google Docs vs Paginel Google Docs-style co-editing, on real Word files.
- A European Word European alternatives to Word, and what “sovereign” means.
- ONLYOFFICE, Collabora, LibreOffice The open-source suites against Paginel: complete on one side, simple on the other.
Sources
Prices and features of other products checked on the date above, on their official pages. They change often: check before you decide.