France expands tech strategy with €1 billion quantum plan boost

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to announce a new €1 billion investment in quantum technologies as France seeks to strengthen its position in the intensifying global competition with the United States and China.

Macron will unveil the funding during a visit on Friday, May 22, to the Very Large Computing Centre operated by the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) in Essonne, including its facility in Bruyères-le-Châtel. The funding will be drawn from the France 2030 investment program.

According to BFM, the additional €1 billion will support France’s national quantum plan at a time when the global race for quantum technologies is accelerating.

During the same visit, Macron is also expected to confirm France’s participation in a new European semiconductor initiative valued at €550 million, likewise financed through France 2030.

The newly announced funding builds on a series of existing government programs. These include the €1.8 billion national quantum plan covering 2021–2025, a further €500 million allocated to defence technologies, and a broader semiconductor strategy worth €5.5 billion launched in 2022.

Macron is also expected to use the occasion of a European forum on computing power and semiconductors to call for a more assertive technological strategy at the European Union level in response to competition from the United States and China. He is likely to advocate for expanded pan-European funding mechanisms for research, despite opposition from some EU member states.

In addition, the French president plans to propose the creation of a “European research and technology coalition,” bringing together major French institutions — CEA, CNRS, and INRIA — with partners across Europe.

By Tamilla Hasanova