Villes Internet

What Villes Internet does

Villes Internet is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in 1998 and headquartered at 13–15 rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris. It supports French local governments — communes, agglomerations, metropolitan areas, and overseas territories — in developing, evaluating, and certifying their digital public policies. The association operates a portfolio of community and platform services: the Atlaas database platform (28,422+ digital actions from 8,311+ public actors), the Label national Territoires, Villes et Villages Internet (a graduated 1–5 '@' certification awarded to roughly 200 territories annually), the Cursus Mosaïque de la Connaissance Numérique training curriculum, the Synthèse stratégique self-assessment framework, the Congrès national des élus au numérique (annual since 2019), the Sources de confiance browser extension (launched 2020), and the #Elunum search engine built in partnership with Qwant.

The association generates revenue from five streams: annual membership fees (adhésion) paid by collectivités, label participation fees, congress and event registration fees, government grants and partnerships (ANCT, French Ministry of Education, and other public bodies), and tax-deductible donations. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: growth is driven by word-of-mouth within the French local-government community, annual label ceremonies in rotating host cities, the annual congress, and ongoing webinars. The organization is led by President Mathieu Vidal with a board and bureau composed of elected officials and mayors; it maintains roughly 1–10 employees and 460+ member collectivités.

Name

Villes Internet

Legal name

Villes Internet

Website

https://villes-internet.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Villes Internet is a French non-profit association founded in 1998 that supports French local governments with digital policy tools, including the Atlaas database platform, a national certification label, training, and an annual congress for elected officials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Association / Local Government Digital Policy Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGALAK

Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Enterprises & Impact Organizations

Keywords

• Local government digital policy
• Territorial digital certification
• Civic association services
• Digital public policy benchmarking
• Elected officials training

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees (Adhésion): Local governments and municipalities pay membership fees to join the Villes Internet association. Members gain access to resources, training, and the network.
2. Label Participation Fees: Local governments pay fees to participate in the annual Label national Territoires, Villes et Villages Internet certification program. Fees support the jury process, ceremony, and certification administration.
3. Congress and Event Fees: Registration fees for the annual Congrès national des élus au numérique and other events organized by the association.
4. Government Grants and Partnerships: The association is recognized by the French State and receives support from various ministries and public partners including the Ministry of Education, ANCT, and other government bodies for specific programs.
5. Donations: The association accepts tax-deductible donations (dons défiscalisés) from supporters to promote citizen and inclusive digital initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Villes Internet is a non-profit association that supports French local authorities (collectivités) in developing, evaluating, and certifying their digital public policies. It operates the Atlaas database platform (over 28,000 digital actions), the annual Label national Territoires, Villes et Villages Internet certification (1 to 5 @ symbols), the Cursus training curriculum, the Synthèse stratégique self-assessment framework, and the annual Congrès national des élus au numérique. The association serves as a community and resource network for 460+ member local governments and approximately 10,000 elected officials and agents.

Product overview

Villes Internet is an association that serves as a resource and networking organization for French local authorities on citizen internet and digital public policy. The organization operates a platform-plus-services model comprising: (1) Atlaas - a database platform for observing and sharing over 28,000 digital actions from 8,300+ public actors; (2) the Label national Territoires, Villes et Villages Internet - a national certification system recognizing digital achievements with graduated '@' symbols; (3) Cursus "Mosaïque de la connaissance numérique" - training workshops on digital ecosystems; (4) Synthèse stratégique - an interactive self-assessment framework; (5) the Congrès national des élus au numérique - an annual national congress for elected officials; and (6) Sources de confiance - a browser extension for identifying trusted territorial websites. These products and services work together to support local authorities in developing, evaluating, and showcasing their digital public policies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Atlaas: A database platform containing over 25,000 local digital actions published by public actors, serving as a unique observation tool for digital uses in French local authorities
• Label national Territoires, Villes et Villages Internet
• Synthèse stratégique
• Cursus - Mosaïque de la Connaissance Numérique
• Congrès national des élus au numérique
• Sources de confiance

Products and services

• Atlaas Database platform for observing and sharing digital public policy actions in French local authorities, containing over 28,422 actions from 8,311 public actors. It is a unique European database for digital usage observation in French local governments.
• Label national Territoires, Villes et Villages Internet A national territorial brand and certification system recognizing local authorities (communes, cities, territories) for their digital public policy achievements. Graduated from 1 to 5 '@' symbols (arobases), with special mentions for 'Numérique éducatif', 'Transition écologique', and 'Territoires d'excellence numérique'.
• Cursus Mosaïque de la Connaissance Numérique A curriculum of training workshops on digital ecosystems, challenges, and projects for local authorities. Helps elected officials and agents acculturate to digital issues through interactive sessions.
• Synthèse stratégique An interactive reference framework (mosaïque) for self-assessment and benchmarking of local digital public policy uses. Used for evaluating progress and comparing with other territories.
• Congrès national des élus au numérique An annual national congress bringing together elected officials responsible for digital matters and their collaborators. Provides a platform for networking, discussion, and adopting motions to present to the government.
• Sources de confiance A browser extension enabling agents and local elected officials to instantly identify territorial, institutional, and university websites in their usual search engines. Promotes awareness of trusted digital sources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 territories receive the national label certification annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cap'ComcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2023Partnership agreement signed July 3, 2023 between Villes Internet and the Cap'Com cooperative. Both organizations share the conviction that local governments remain key public actors for digital citizen initiatives. The partnership aims to create more local synergy.
• APVF (Association des Petites Villes de France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Partnership convention signed during the 24th Assises of APVF in Dinan. APVF is a long-standing partner of Villes Internet, supporting small towns in developing citizen internet initiatives.
• Villes de FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership renewal between Villes Internet and Villes de France (association of medium-sized cities) to support digital transition of member municipalities.
• French Ministry of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership renewal for educational numerique (digital education) initiatives. Supports the 'Numerique Educatif' special mention in the label program.
• ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the French national agency for territorial cohesion on digital public policy initiatives.
• QwantcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to create #Elunum, the first search engine dedicated to public action. Built on Qwant technology, designed for elected officials and territorial government agents.
• Banque Française MutualisteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership supporting digital transition of territories through mutual support and resources for local government employees.
• AMIF (Acteurs du Monde de la Famille)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerVilles Internet partners with AMIF for events and initiatives in the Ile-de-France region, supporting digital policy development among member municipalities.
• AMRF (Association des Maires Ruraux de France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting rural mayors and municipalities in digital policy development. Includes interview series and collaboration on rural digital issues.
• Ville et BanlieueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the association representing cities and suburbs to strengthen ties and support urban digital initiatives.
• RURALITICminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Ruralitic event focusing on digital and rural transition topics.
• French Government (État)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized by the French State as a key resource for local digital policy. Ministers regularly attend label ceremonies and congress events. The association submits annual motions to the government.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cap'Com: Cooperative of public communication professionals serving French local governments. Direct peer: Villes Internet signed a formal partnership with Cap'Com in July 2023, both serving the same digital policy and communication needs of French collectivités.
• Villes de France: Association of medium-sized French cities. Direct peer: a Core strategic partner of Villes Internet supporting digital transition of its member municipalities, with a comparable vertical membership model serving the same local government audience.
• France urbaine: Association of large French cities and metropolises. Direct peer: membership association serving French local authorities on public policy advocacy, sharing the same elected-official audience as Villes Internet.
• Intercommunalités de France: Association representing French inter-municipal structures (intercommunalités). Direct peer: comparable membership-based association supporting French local authorities on public policy, with overlapping elected official audience.
• APVF (Association des Petites Villes de France): Association representing small French towns. Direct peer: longstanding Core partner of Villes Internet, co-organizing initiatives on citizen internet for petites villes, addressing the same local government vertical.
• AMRF (Association des Maires Ruraux de France): Association representing rural French mayors. Direct peer: Core partner of Villes Internet collaborating on rural digital policy development, addressing the same vertical with overlapping membership profiles.

Broad incumbents

• ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires): French national agency for territorial cohesion. Broad incumbent: a Core partner of Villes Internet, operating at much larger scale across multiple policy verticals but with overlapping mandate on territorial digital public policy.

Regional players

• Eurocities: European network of major cities. Regional peer: comparable membership association for local government digital and policy exchange but operating across Europe rather than exclusively in France.
• CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions): Pan-European federation of local and regional government associations. Regional peer: analogous membership organization promoting local government interests at the European level, offering potential cross-border scale reference for Villes Internet.

Emerging players

• Décider Ensemble: French association promoting participatory democracy and citizen consultation. Emerging peer: adjacent thematic focus on citizen engagement and local democracy, partially overlapping with Villes Internet's digital inclusion mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Villes_Internet
• Facebookfacebook.com/villes.internet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/villes-internet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Villes Internet