France remains at the top. For the seventh consecutive year, France is the European country that attracted the most foreign investment projects in 2025, according to the EY 2026 Attractiveness Barometer. With 852 projects recorded, it leads ahead of the United Kingdom with 730, and Germany with 548.
This top position comes, however, against a backdrop of slowdown. The number of projects fell by 17% in France compared to 2024, a steeper decline than in the United Kingdom, Germany, and at the European level overall.
But on the technology front, France stands out in artificial intelligence. According to EY, it attracted more foreign AI-related projects than any other European country, with 53 projects recorded in 2025, up 26% year-on-year. Among these AI projects, 36% involve data centers. This figure illustrates the growing role of infrastructure in France's attractiveness, as demands for computing power and hosting grow alongside the development of artificial intelligence.
The energy question is thus becoming central to this dynamic. Computing needs are growing rapidly, data centers are consuming ever-increasing volumes of electricity, and investors are looking for countries able to offer both capacity, stability, and a credible low-carbon trajectory.
In this equation, France holds a structural advantage. Its electricity mix, largely decarbonized thanks to nuclear and renewable energy, is becoming an economic argument as much as an environmental one. At a time when major corporations are seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of their digital infrastructure, French energy is once again becoming a strong driver of attractiveness.
The AI Summit as a backdrop
This dynamic also builds on the Summit for Action on AI, held in Paris in February 2025. Emmanuel Macron announced €109 billion in private AI investments there, with significant emphasis placed on data centers. And France intends to keep accelerating in this area.
Recently, Iliad, Ardian, Artefact, Bull, Capgemini, EDF, Orange, and Scaleway announced the creation of the AION consortium, aimed at putting forward a French bid under the European AI gigafactories program. The project, estimated at €10 billion, aims to create a computing infrastructure of one gigawatt in capacity, spread across multiple sites in France.
These strengths and initiatives are, however, no longer sufficient on their own to win over decision-makers on major industrial projects and R&D centers. According to EY, cost competitiveness, administrative simplicity, regulatory stability, and the clarity of public policy remain France's main competitive weaknesses in the eyes of the executives surveyed.
The United Kingdom also retains an edge in other segments. EY notes that it continues to attract more projects in tech broadly speaking. France's lead in AI therefore appears as a positive signal, but still a partial one, in the European competition to attract technology investment.
