France played 5G card better than US but Huawei is the winner

If France is trying to keep Huawei Technologies Co. out of its next-generation telecommunications networks, it’s doing it a lot more subtly than the U.S.

The country’s parliament starts to debate Wednesday a bill aimed at tightening security around its 5G networks after an earlier version was rejected in February by senators for the government’s failure to fully consult them. The bill doesn’t name Huawei, but instead provides a framework for protecting networks by subjecting equipment to tests that may be tantamount to suppliers handing over industrial secrets to be eligible to bid for contracts.

“We don’t target any gear maker; we target equipment,” said Thomas Gassilloud, a lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron’s party, Republic on The Move, who sits on the defense committee.