France’s flagship “Choose France” investor summit delivered a record headline number on June 1, 2026: €93 billion (about $100.4 billion) in pledged foreign investment tied to 71 confirmed projects, with 15,600 jobs expected nationwide, according to the Élysée Palace.
But the geography of those announcements was uneven. Brittany—France’s northwestern region on the Atlantic—was not cited as a destination in this year’s major deals, continuing a pattern since the event launched in 2018.
The record total was also heavily concentrated. A single commitment from Japan’s SoftBank, partnered with French energy-management group Schneider Electric, accounted for close to half of the national figure.
SoftBank’s AI data-center plan drives the record total
SoftBank said it will deploy €45 billion (about $48.6 billion) by 2031 to build artificial-intelligence-focused data centers in Hauts-de-France, the northern region that borders Belgium. The company’s total commitment in France could reach €75 billion (about $81.0 billion) over time.
Without AI infrastructure—and especially without SoftBank—the ninth edition’s tally would have looked far more modest, reflecting a familiar dynamic: a handful of mega-projects inflate the top-line number while many other announcements involve smaller sums spread across less-publicized areas.
French officials framed the summit as a capstone moment for President Emmanuel Macron, calling it his final “Choose France” before the end of his term.
Occitanie, Hauts-de-France and parts of Normandy land major announcements
Beyond the SoftBank-Schneider Electric plan, several other regions were singled out by the projects disclosed at Versailles.
In health care and pharmaceuticals, British drugmaker GSK announced €140 million (about $151.2 million) in new investment in France. Of that, €74.1 million (about $80.0 million) is earmarked for three production sites—Évreux in Normandy, Mayenne, and Saint-Amand-les-Eaux in the Nord—while €63.6 million (about $68.7 million) will go to R&D. The package fits into a broader €550 million (about $594.0 million) program for 2026–2028.
Swiss generics maker Sandoz also announced nearly €150 million (about $162.0 million) for its French sites. Amazon confirmed three new logistics sites, including one in the Pays de la Loire region.
Brittany remains on the sidelines as big-ticket projects cluster elsewhere
Brittany did not appear among the regions explicitly tied to this year’s headline announcements. The article notes that since “Choose France” began in 2018, Brittany has regularly finished near the bottom of the list of beneficiary regions.
Much of the summit’s investment is shaped by heavy industry, data centers and logistics platforms—projects that tend to concentrate in areas seen as easier to develop, with more available land and energy capacity.
Roland Lescure, the minister of the Economy and Finance, pointed directly to power supply as France’s core selling point for investors. “France’s advantages are known around the world and that starts above all with decarbonized electricity available in large quantities and cheap,” he said after a bilateral meeting with investors.
That combination—abundant, low-carbon, low-cost electricity—is exactly what data-center operators seek, and Hauts-de-France, with large available industrial zones, captured much of the AI-driven wave.
The article notes Brittany has strengths of its own, including food processing, cybersecurity and naval technologies. But those sectors did not generate major announcements at Versailles as AI and digital infrastructure absorbed the bulk of investment volumes.
A record that also masks a broader dip in foreign investment decisions
The €93 billion (about $100.4 billion) figure comes with important context. Les Echos reported that international projects in France hit their lowest level since 2017 in 2025, with foreign investment decisions down 17%—a steeper drop than in the United Kingdom and Germany over the same period.
“Choose France’s momentum makes it possible to go and get projects abroad. But it’s not a good solution,” the Élysée acknowledged, according to the article.
The 2026 edition statistically reverses that trend, but largely because of SoftBank. Without that single commitment, the total would fall below €50 billion (about $54.0 billion), a more typical level.
To bolster credibility, France’s Finance Ministry—often referred to as “Bercy,” after the Paris neighborhood where it is based—organized “Choose France Days” the weekend before the summit, opening factories created following earlier editions. The Élysée said 95% of projects announced since 2018 have been completed or are underway, with two-thirds located in towns of fewer than 30,000 residents.
For Brittany, the question remains how to capture a larger share of future investment flows as other regions positioned earlier in the sectors driving the next wave of big-ticket projects.
