Choose France summit touts €93 billion in foreign investment pledges, a record for Macron’s Versailles pitch

France’s annual “Choose France” investment summit drew more than 200 foreign business leaders to the Palace of Versailles on June 2, 2026—and ended with a headline number the government is calling unprecedented: €93 billion (about $100.4 billion) in announced foreign investment commitments and more than 15,600 jobs promised in France.

The total, released after the ninth edition of the event, more than doubles the €40.8 billion (about $44.1 billion) reported for the 2025 summit, according to Reuters. It also dwarfs the €6.8 billion (about $7.3 billion) announced in 2022 at the fifth edition.

For President Emmanuel Macron, the 2026 gathering is the last of his two five-year terms to be held in this international format at Versailles. A final edition focused only on French companies is planned for the fall in Paris.

71 announcements, 200 executives, nearly 50 countries represented

The day brought together executives from nearly 50 countries, with more than 200 participants in total. Organizers said 71 projects were announced, spanning multiple sectors, though the available sources did not provide a breakdown by industry for this year’s edition.

The summit followed a nationwide “open factories” initiative held from Friday through Sunday, aimed at showcasing France’s industrial base.

A record headline number—amid a tougher reality for reindustrialization

The record figures do not fully erase the challenges facing French industry. Le Monde reported that France’s industrial sector has endured two difficult years, and that the summit comes as the country’s reindustrialization push has stalled.

Le Monde pointed to Carbon, a solar-panel company placed into court-ordered liquidation for lack of financing and a European market it said was not sufficiently protected from Chinese competition, as an example of the practical limits behind the government’s attractiveness message.

The Choose France totals also include repeat commitments. In 2025, the Élysée Palace—Macron’s office—separately identified €20 billion (about $21.6 billion) as “entirely new,” versus €17 billion (about $18.4 billion) tied to earlier announcements, including on artificial intelligence.

From €6.8 billion to €93 billion in four years

Even with those caveats, the growth over Macron’s term is striking. From €6.8 billion (about $7.3 billion) in 2022 to €93 billion (about $100.4 billion) in 2026, the volume of commitments announced at Versailles has increased thirteenfold in four years.

Those longer-running pledges can translate into concrete projects over time. One example cited is the “World of Frozen” park inaugurated at Disneyland Paris in March 2026; its €2 billion (about $2.2 billion) investment had been announced as far back as the 2018 edition of the summit.

Choose France investment totals by edition

Source : Reuters