Economy. Choose France: What are the main announcements of the summit?

A total of 37 billion euros of foreign investment in France, including 20 billion euros new , for a total of 13,000 direct or indirect jobs created, will be announced on Monday at the 8th Choose France summit , according to the Élysée.

Data centers in the spotlight

Data centers are particularly in the spotlight, with several major projects announced or confirmed after the February Artificial Intelligence Summit, which received €109 billion in private investment pledges.

American company Prologis will invest €6.4 billion in warehouses for the Marseille, Lyon, Paris, and Le Havre markets, and in four data centers in the Paris region. Canadian company Brookfield is confirming a February announcement, with €10 billion for a site in Cambrai (Nord).

American firm Digital Realty also confirmed commitments for data centers in Marseille and Dugny (Seine-Saint-Denis), worth $2.3 billion. Another billion-dollar project, involving the Emirati investment fund MGX, is also expected to be confirmed, for the establishment of an AI campus in the Île-de-France region. France, the Élysée Palace emphasizes, is an "energy paradise" for electricity-hungry AI structures thanks to nuclear power.

Sovereignty

Still within the framework of announcements contributing, like AI, to "sovereignty", explains the Élysée, investments will be presented in networks – more than 2 billion for the Irish Accenture, 2.5 billion for the Spanish Cellnex, 100 million for the American Cisco –, rare metals – 110 million euros, probably in Lacq (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) by the British Less Common Metals Ltd –, defense – 100 million in Occitanie for drones by the Portuguese Tekever, 25 million for hydrogen fuel cells by the Singaporean H3 Dynamics.

With the focus this year on investments in culture and tourism, Netflix has announced €250 million for French production, while the Saudi investment fund Qiddiya will sign a memorandum of understanding on "a major tourism and entertainment project in France."

Circular economy

American company Circ, a pioneer in textile chemical recycling, will invest €450 million in its first global-scale factory in Saint-Avold (Moselle), creating 200 jobs. On Sunday, Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher lamented that the current recycling model was "out of breath," faced with "the wall of waste generated by ultra-fast fashion."

Decarbonization of industry

Eight announcements will concern this area, including that of a joint venture between the French company H2V and the German company Hy2gen, for an investment of 1.5 billion euros in the production of sustainable aircraft fuel.

Mobility

Germany's Daimler Truck will invest €92 million in its electric bus factory in Ligny-en-Barrois (Meuse) and will receive a visit from Emmanuel Macron on Monday morning, before the summit. China's Windrose Technology (electric trucks) will invest €175 million to create its largest European factory. Switzerland's MSC Cruises will confirm an order for two new ships from Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire.

Finance

British fintech Revolut will invest €1 billion in France over three years and will open its new Western European headquarters in Paris. Adia (United Arab Emirates) is investing €600 million in European outdoor accommodation leader ECG.

British firm Icon Infrastructure will invest $500 million in equity in the French infrastructure sector. The London Stock Exchange will establish a new benchmark index administrator in Paris.

Amazon, Mars, Manpower, the American giants are here

Amazon announced a plan worth more than €300 million , including for warehouses in Centre-Val-de-Loire and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with more than 1,500 permanent jobs to come. The food group Mars Inc. will invest more than €100 million in the modernization of its existing sites. Manpowergroup will also dedicate €200 million over three years to innovation and training projects.