French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - France's prime minister asked her cabinet to stop using widespread instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram and install widely unknown Olvid, a product of Paris's start-up scene presenting itself as a more secure alternative. In a ministerial circular, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne urged ministers and their top staff to deploy the Olvid app on phones and computers, her office told Reuters on Wednesday, confirming French media reports. Messaging apps like Meta's WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal have increasingly become the go-to tool of communication in the inner circles of French politics, and government officials also use the apps when talking to journalists. President Emmanuel Macron is said to be an avid user of messaging apps himself.

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Persons: Elisabeth Borne, Sarah Meyssonnier, Emmanuel Macron, Olvid, Tassilo Hummel, Josie Kao Organizations: French, National Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, French