Late Sunday local time the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced a total of €109 billion in private investments in the AI ecosystem — or around $112 billion at current exchange rates. Paris is hosting the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit this week — the third international summit focused on AI after earlier events in Bletchley Park in the U.K., and Seoul, South Korea.
French President Announces €109 Billion in AI Investments
“I can tell you this evening, Europe is going to speed up, France is going to speed up,” Macron said in a TV interview on France 2 and India’s First Post, teeing up the €109 billion of investment in artificial intelligence which he said would be deployed “over the next few years”.
Comparison with Stargate Project
He added that the pot of money represents “exactly the equivalent for France of what the United States announced with Stargate — $500 billion — it’s the same ratio.” (With 68 million inhabitants, France has 5x fewer people than the U.S.)
Investment Breakdown
TechCrunch started counting all the investment pledges from foreign and local players that have been rolling in over the past few days. With €30B to €50B coming from the United Arab Emirates (and MGX), €20B coming from Canadian investment firm Brookfield, €10B coming from Bpifrance and €3B coming from French telecom company Iliad, we reached a total of up to €83B ($85B) as of Sunday.
A few companies have yet to announce their plans. During the interview, Macron mentioned Orange and Thales as other investors in the program.
New AI-Focused Data Centers
Most of the investments will go toward new AI-focused data centers. Hence, the comparison with Stargate.
French AI Startups
Macron also discussed French AI startups that have moved their headquarters to the U.S, such as Mistral, Owkin and Wandercraft. He said he believes Europe is still competitive when it comes to artificial intelligence startups — even suggesting that DeepSeek represents an opportunity to catch up.
Mistral’s Data Center Project
Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral, also announced plans to invest billions in an AI cluster. The Paris-based company is arguably the only European company working on foundation models that can compete with models from the likes of Alibaba, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Meta, OpenAI, and others.
“We’re going to do our bit and invest several billion euros in a cluster, which will be set up in Essonne, so that we can train even more efficient systems in just a few months’ time,” Mensch said on French TV TF1.
France as an Ideal Location for Data Centers
The announcement could be seen as another reaction to the Stargate Project, the $500 billion investment program led by OpenAI and SoftBank, to build multiple data centers for AI in the United States.
As a reminder, the majority of France’s electricity production comes from nuclear power plants. France also produces more electricity than it uses.
As tech companies are looking at new locations for power-hungry data centers — ideally powered by carbon-free electricity — France could present itself as an ideal location in Europe for these projects.
Macron’s View on France’s Advantage
“In France, we have an extraordinary lead. We produce some of the most decarbonized, controllable and safe electricity in the world,” said Macron, adding: “We have the safest and most stable grid. And we export this low-carbon electricity.”
According to the French president the country exported 90TWh of electricity to neighboring countries in 2024. France now plans to use that headroom to attract foreign investments.
Conclusion
The announcement of €109 billion in AI investments is a significant boost for the French AI ecosystem, and the country’s plan to use its excess electricity production to attract foreign investments is a clever move. As the world continues to move towards a more digital future, France is positioning itself as a key player in the AI landscape.
FAQs
Q: What is the total amount of investment announced by Emmanuel Macron?
A: €109 billion
Q: What is the comparison made by Macron between the French investment and the Stargate Project?
A: Macron said the French investment is equivalent to the Stargate Project, which is worth $500 billion, in terms of the ratio of investment to population size.
Q: Who are some of the companies that have announced investment plans?
A: The United Arab Emirates (and MGX), Brookfield, Bpifrance, Iliad, Orange, and Thales have all announced investment plans.
Q: What is the plan for the excess electricity production in France?
A: France plans to use its excess electricity production to attract foreign investments in AI data centers.
