Data centres – here today, here tomorrow: France’s billion dollar bet on AI

France has ambitions to become Europe’s AI superpower, leveraging its highly decarbonised electricity grid and government backing to attract billions in data centre investment. In this episode, we explore the market in detail and flag up the issues that investors need to know. Ashurst’s Ruth Harris is joined by a panel of Paris and London colleagues to explore France’s remarkable data centre momentum, in the wake of the latest Choose France Summit. France’s energy mix (majority nuclear, backed by hydro and renewables) equips the nation for AI workloads that demand huge power consumption while maintaining net zero credentials. So together Rebecca Clark, Mark Barges, François Hellot, Nicolas Quoy and David Noblinski paint a picture of France’s tantalising data centre prospects. The episode highlights France’s strategic advantages and current challenges in developing its data centres industry, including permit and consent processes that can drag out “in excess of 10 years”. There’s also discussion about key movers and shakers in the investment market and standout projects to watch, along with data sovereignty and cybersecurity, commercial lease protections, and the evolution from “single asset deals” to platform investment strategies. To listen to this and subscribe to future episodes about data centres, search for “Ashurst Legal Outlook” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast player. To read Ashurst’s regular article series on data centres, visit this web page. To find out more about the full range of Ashurst podcasts, visit ashurst.com/podcasts. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.