Windows 10 gets a funeral in France as furious activists parade a coffin, blasting Microsoft

Earlier this month, we learned that the government of France has decided to ditch Windows in favor of Linux to reduce reliance on U.S.-based technologies. Last year, Denmark took a similar step, and while initiatives like these may be appealing to government bodies around the globe for one reason or the other, we also have the example of Munich, which returned to Windows after using Linux for a decade. Now, several collectives in France are protesting the death of Windows 10.

Although Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 10 back in October 2025, customers have the option to enroll in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program which allows them to continue receiving security updates either by paying for it, or by agreeing to certain conditions. However, that is not good enough for ecologists in France who have been holding protests criticizing Microsoft for this move.

French press agency CLPress has detailed coverage of the protest, which also includes a coffin to showcase the symbolic death of Windows 10:

The environmentalists engaged in these protests have criticized Microsoft for raking in billions of dollars in profit and still deciding to "arbitrarily" end support for a popular OS as a part of its "planned obsolescence" strategy, leading to millions of devices going to e-waste sites, further harming the environment. They claim that this will happen because people will be forced to pay for new Windows 11 devices to satisfy hardware requirements, further contributing to Microsoft's healthy bottom line.

The protesters' demand is to extend support for Windows 10 until 2030 as the current ESU covering a year is not enough. 50,000 people have already signed the petition urging Microsoft to extend support.

Six organizations were involved in the protest, namely Non-Violent Action COP21, Alternatiba, April, Stop Planned Obsolescence, Que Choisir Ensemble, and Zero Waste France. They claim that Microsoft's deadlines mean that potentially millions of functional devices will go to waste, even though it apparently takes 800kg of raw material to manufacture a single new laptop.

Some people involved in the protests have also urged consumers to ditch Windows altogether and just switch to Linux on their existing PCs. Of course, Linux distros face challenges related to support as well, but the rationale is that those restrictions hopefully won't force you to waste a perfectly capable PC.

It's highly unlikely that Microsoft will bow to pressure from French organizations. The company has been reminding people about the death of Windows 10 for quite some time, so it probably doesn't make a difference to Redmond if a Windows 10 coffin is being paraded around by pallbearers in France. Although, this incident does bring back memories of 2010, when Microsoft employees enthralled with Windows Phone 7 RTM held a funeral procession for the iPhone, complete with a hearse. We all know how that turned out at the end.