French President Emmanuel Macron announced a record €93 billion, or about $101 billion, in confirmed foreign investments at this year’s “Choose France” business summit, marking the largest total since the initiative began in 2018.
The annual event, held at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, brought together around 200 executives from major international companies. Macron said the new investment package is expected to create more than 15,000 jobs and will focus heavily on artificial intelligence, data centers, semiconductors, critical minerals, steel, healthcare and industrial production.
“This is by far a record edition,” Macron said, describing the scale of the commitments as historic.
A major part of the announcement came from Japanese technology investor SoftBank. The company is expected to invest €45 billion in data centers in northern France by 2031, as part of a broader €75 billion plan for artificial intelligence infrastructure. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said France’s nuclear-powered electricity supply was one of the key reasons behind the decision.
Macron said the projects would help France become one of Europe’s leading hubs for data centers and computing capacity, narrowing the gap with the United States and China in the race for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Other major commitments include a $10 billion investment from Canadian asset manager Brookfield for a data center in northern France, a $5 billion project from investment firm Ardian and Nordic data platform Verne in the Paris region, and a $2 billion investment from U.S. software company Salesforce by 2030, including a new AI hub in Paris.
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn is also expected to invest €120 million in Angers, western France, to produce motherboards for AI systems in partnership with French supercomputer company Bull. Amazon, which recently announced more than €15 billion in investments in France over the next three years, said it would create an additional 1,000 jobs at three logistics centers.
The new pledges far exceed last year’s €20 billion record and even surpass the total €87 billion announced across the previous eight years of the “Choose France” program.
France has ranked as Europe’s top destination for foreign investment for seven consecutive years, according to consultancy EY. However, analysts warn that the large announcements do not erase broader economic challenges. Some sectors, including automobiles, chemicals and metallurgy, continue to struggle, while overall corporate investment in France remains under pressure.
Still, Macron is positioning the country as a major European player in artificial intelligence and advanced industry. His government has also announced €1.55 billion in public funding to support quantum technologies and semiconductors, as France seeks to strengthen its role in the global tech race.
