Brookfield Allocates €10 Billion to Expand French Data Center Infrastructure

France is set to strengthen its position as a major hub for digital infrastructure with investment giant Brookfield announcing an additional €10 billion commitment to develop data centers in the country. This expansion brings Brookfield’s total investment in France's AI-related infrastructure to €30 billion, marking a significant increase from the €20 billion announced at the AI Summit in February 2025.

Major Plans Unveiled at Choose France Summit

The announcement was made during the Choose France Summit, a key annual event where France showcases investment opportunities to global business leaders. This year’s summit saw a record-breaking 71 announcements representing €93 billion in investments across various sectors, with tens of billions allocated to digital infrastructure initiatives.

Brookfield's investment will fund the development of two campuses in the Hauts-de-France region. One campus will be located in the E-Valley in Cambrai, while the second site will be in Escaudain. Both projects will be built and operated by Data4, a major player in the data center space.

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Other Significant Investments in French Digital Infrastructure

Brookfield's announcement comes amid a wave of data center, cloud, and AI-related investments in France. Several other major projects were highlighted during the summit:

• Campus AI, a joint venture involving MGX, Bpifrance, Nvidia, and Mistral, is poised to select a second site for development. The venture has committed approximately €7.5 billion to the project. Its ongoing development includes a site in Fouju, Seine-et-Marne, which will eventually host 12 data centers across 70 hectares, with a total capacity of 1.4GW. The first phase, comprising three buildings, is expected to go live in 2028.
• Nebius, another major player, is redeveloping a former Bridgestone tire plant in Béthune, Hauts-de-France, into a 240MW data center. The company is set to invest around €8 billion, with the first phase of the project expected to become operational in 2026. "We are proud to build the future of AI in France!" Nebius stated on LinkedIn.
• Phoenix Group, a UAE-based cryptominer pivoting to AI, plans to build an 18MW AI facility near Lyon. This project is part of a broader 1GW European expansion, including 500MW of capacity in France.
• SoftBank is planning a large-scale expansion in France, with up to 5GW of data center capacity. The total investment for this initiative may reach as much as €75 billion.
• Verne and Ardian are collaborating to develop a 500MW data center campus outside Paris. This project aims to support Iliad's AI gigafactory initiative.
• SAP, the German software giant, is preparing to build three data center sites in the Île-de-France region by the first quarter of 2027. These facilities will support a sovereign SAP cloud and Business AI region. Details regarding whether these centers will be self-built or involve leasing capacity remain unclear.

A Broader Push for Technological Advancement

The surge in investments extends beyond data centers. Groundwork recently began on a semiconductor outsourcing and testing plant in Le Barp, near Bordeaux. The facility, a project of Tessalia Technology - a joint venture between Foxconn, Radiall, and Thales - was first announced last year.

The Choose France Summit continues to serve as a platform for France to highlight its commitment to fostering technological innovation and attracting global investment. With these developments, France is positioning itself as a leading destination for AI and cloud infrastructure.

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