The difference is that if an app that has to be installed by mandate only has the same rights as any other apps that can be downloaded from the App Store, it doesn’t change the security of the underlying system. If the app is restricted to the same permission and sandboxing model.

Heck, Apple could theoretically make the sandbox more restrictive.

On top of that, changing the name of a country is a server side change and changes data. That’s no different technically if France mandates that all movies had to have French subtitles.