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FranceLe Monde Informatique
FranceLe Monde InformatiqueFrench Public Finance Accounting System Suffers Outage
Monday, February 16, 2026
What
The Helios accounting application, used by French local authorities and hospitals, suffered a multi-day outage caused by a defective storage array component that prevented redundancy. This disruption significantly impacted financial operations, raising critical questions about technical debt and service continuity within the Dgfip.
Where
French Dgfip (Directorate General of Public Finances), numerous local authorities, and some hospitals in France.
When
Outage began on February 5th; progressive recovery started later.
Key Factors
- •The failure of a single storage array component prevented the system's intended redundancy from activating, leading to a widespread service interruption.
- •The incident underscores significant concerns regarding the Dgfip's technical debt and the apparent absence of a robust business continuity plan for critical financial systems.
- •The 20-year-old Helios software's outage during an electoral period complicated municipal account closures and supplier payments.
Takeaways
- →Organizations must regularly audit and address technical debt in critical legacy systems to prevent single points of failure.
- →Implement and rigorously test comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plans to ensure resilience against hardware failures.
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