Macron announces 93bn euros in ‘Choose France’ investments

PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron said he was expecting “record” foreign investment amounting to 93 billion euros (USD108 billion) at an international conference Monday, including for artificial intelligence and data centres.

Around 200 executives from around the world are expected at the Versailles palace west of Paris for Macron’s annual “Choose France” event.

Last year’s conference set a record of 20 billion euros (USD23.3 billion) in announced projects.

But money already pledged for this year is set to surpass the combined 87 billion euros raised over the past eight years, according to a figure from Macron’s office.

“This edition of Choose France alone will make it possible to crystallise a record amount of 93 billion euros in confirmed investments, for more than 15,000 jobs. It is obviously by far a record edition, and it is historic,” Macron said.

The pledges include 45 billion euros from Japanese tech investor SoftBank, Macron said.

Its founder, Masayoshi Son, said over the weekend that it would spend 75 billion euros on artificial intelligence infrastructure, including 45 billion euros by 2031 on data centres in northern France.

Macron said the other investments would also be spent on “artificial intelligence, on data centres” as well as semiconductors, critical minerals, tractors and trucks, steel and healthcare.