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June 11, 2026

Can France’s Stargate-style buildout succeed?

France wants to lead Europe’s buildout of AI compute, but observers say the mega-projects announced so far don’t align with the region's needs


French president Emmanuel Macron at the AI Action Summit in Paris. Photo credit: Judith.Litvine/MEAE

The race to build the data centres powering the next generation of AI in Europe shows no sign of slowing, with France determined to establish itself as a prime location for development.

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Daphné Leprince-Ringuet

Daphné Leprince-Ringuet is a senior reporter for Sifted, based in Paris. She covers French tech and writes Sifted's AI and Deeptech newsletter . You can find her on X and LinkedIn

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