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Well, well, well, I thought the UK would get there first. Tomorrow at midday you can download France's contact tracing app. Is it any good? Is it any use? I don't know.
I might just quickly check in on some of the French press. See if they're having a totally normal cool one..... 
"StopCovid is the sign that our society has gone bad and is on course to become completely paranoid" > cool, cool, cool. https://information.tv5monde.com/info/stopcovid-c-est-le-signe-d-une-societe-qui-va-tres-mal-et-qui-est-en-train-de-devenir?amp&__twitter_impression=true
Actually. The main coverage is fair and positive. https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2020/06/01/faut-il-ou-non-installer-stopcovid-le-debat-resume-en-discussion-sms_6041417_4355770.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1591029040
Mostly dispelling a rumour that's spreading that the app is silently being installed on all phones. And passing on the evaluation of the CNIL (a bit like the ICO in the UK) that it meets their data protection standards. https://www.liberation.fr/direct/element/la-cnil-donne-son-feu-vert-a-lapplication-stopcovid_114017/
This morning, as a result of this thread, I find myself reading about Delphine O, who happens to be the sister of France's digital Minister and has a CV so ridiculous that I have my suspicions that she's the French James Bond.
The code for #StopCovid is en ligne ici. (I think a few parts remain unshared). https://gitlab.inria.fr/stopcovid19
So far 100 issues opened. Questions like this answered quickly and satisfactorily. This is a particularly nice one, an issue was raised, the Minister discussed it in Parliament, his answer is placed on the issue, and will form the fix when it is available.
I think we can call it on this tweet --- I was far too pessimistic. The French app is much less of a mess than I feared. (it still may be useless, but it at least exists). https://twitter.com/thomasforth/status/1257595121576665088?s=20
Also looks like the app was developed at a very minimal cost. Interesting. https://www.nouvelobs.com/economie/20200602.OBS29619/stopcovid-une-application-au-cout-sale.html
The UK is spending much more just exploring an alternative to its main app. https://twitter.com/thomasforth/status/1258364887866187779?s=20
Some small clues escape from the castle of secrecy (UK gov.) as to why a contact tracing app that I had guessed was well ahead of the French equivalent now seems to be about a month behind. With a really challenging question for all tech-interested people. https://twitter.com/peterkwells/status/1268895058482343936?s=20
So far the app has really good reviews (3.9 stars out of 5 is hard to get) and the top four reviews are about it being too French --- which I think are almost completely unfair. It's the French contact tracing app people. Clue's in the name.
(I understand that there is some merit to arguments that using a European standard would be better [though that comes with big risks] and that having more languages available at launch would be good -- but these are such tiny edge cases it is right to simplify them away).
The app installs quickly, works in English by default on my English phone (most of the translations are excellent),...
Once activated it sneaks off into the background, but a little Marianne Stop Covid logo sits in the title bar and is a notification I can't dismiss. I suspect this serves doubly to let me know it's still working and to hold onto some priorities in Android so it can scan.
I'm pleasantly surprised that the confidentiality, privacy, etc... stuff in the app is complete even in English. Nice touch to link directly to the source code repo from the app. Once you click deeply enough it becomes French, as you'd expect.
In every way except the most important way (which I can't test and hope never to be able to test) this is an excellent app. Super simple. Fast. Clean design. Just three and half buttons. The Ronseal Quick Drying Woodpaint of apps... does exactly what it says on the tin.
I might try download the Italian app now.
