On May 30, SoftBank Group announced plans to invest up to €75 billion (approx. $87 billion) in building data centers in France, aiming to build and operate up to 5 gigawatts of data center computing capacity. The first phase plans to build data centers in Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel, and Bouchamps, delivering 3.1 GW of computing capacity to the Hauts-de-France region by 2031. SoftBank said this investment will be its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe to date. French Economy Minister Roland Lescure described the project in a statement as “clear evidence of President Macron’s commitment to making France a top-tier destination for the entire AI value chain.”
SoftBank is both an investor in and a customer of OpenAI. This major bet on French AI infrastructure is the latest step in its global data center expansion strategy. Previously, SoftBank announced it would build a data center in Ohio, USA, along with a new 9.2 GW natural gas power plant to ensure computing power supply. Compared to the growing resistance to data center construction in the United States (mainly due to grid load and environmental controversies), France, with its nuclear-dominated clean energy structure and proactive investment policies under Macron’s government, is becoming a core battleground in the competition for European AI infrastructure.