Choose Francesummit, a new record is on the horizon: more than 20 billion euros in foreign investments are expected, in addition to a significant amount earmarked for strategic infrastructure related to artificial intelligence.
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Investing in AI Capabilities
Four months following the Artificial Intelligence Summit in Paris, the French government continues to focus on AI, considering it a major global economic issue. This Monday, at the Choose France summit, Emmanuel Macron will welcome dozens of international leaders, who are bringing major industrial projects to France.
According to the Élysée, at least 20 billion euros in investments are expected to be announced, with an additional 17 billion directly related to artificial intelligence. This sets a new record, surpassing the 15 billion committed at the previous event.
The massive investments will naturally lead to an increase in digital infrastructure, starting with data centers. These facilities are essential for operating artificial intelligence models.
In particular, the Canadian fund Brookfield is set to unveil a 10 billion euro project to construct a massive campus in Cambrai (in northern France). Developed in partnership with French company Data4, this project could eventually have a 1 gigawatt capacity and create up to 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Meanwhile, American giant Digital Realty will formalize an investment of 2.3 billion euros for the construction of two new data centers, in Dugny (Seine-Saint-Denis) and Marseille. These facilities are also expected to create 750 additional jobs.
A Government Strategy to Streamline Installations
As a reminder, last February, the government identified 35 strategic sites across the country for data center installation, in cooperation with land and energy operators. The goal is to speed up electrical connection procedures and remove administrative barriers that too often hinder industrial installations in France. The executive branch is thus aiming to navigate around the complexities of the French bureaucratic system, which is frequently criticized for slowing down, or even cancelling, projects.
These announcements further enhance the very positive outcome of the February AI summit, during which Emmanuel Macron highlighted a total of 109 billion euros in confirmed or ongoing investments in France. With Choose France 2025, the president aims to showcase France as an indispensable technological hub.
But the objective is also to strengthen France’s (and Europe’s) position against the USA and China, through the ability to attract global giants around issues of digital sovereignty, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. For this, the focus is on data centers, which are no longer obscure buildings to be hidden, but rather symbols of economic attractiveness and technological power.
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