Have you ever wondered why France hasn't been known as the place for tech in Europe?

While everyone was watching London's fintech boom, something extraordinary happened in France.

The country that gave us bureaucratic nightmares produced Mistral AI, Europe's answer to open AI.

The UAE committed 50 billion euros to build the continent's largest AI center campus in France.

France's tech is powered by quite literally 56 nuclear reactors, pumping out cheap electricity and leaving all of its neighbors behind.

But this nuclear advantage is coming from deeply rooted colonial past that is actively crumbling.

So how did the land of endless strikes and rigid labor laws become Europe's AI battleground?

And can this nuclearpowered tech boom survive what's coming next?

Hi everybody.

This is the final episode, episode 10 of my series, Where to Run, where I research how mid to senior tech professionals are rebuilding their lives and careers in the aftermath of the post-pandemic, post layoff AI first era.

and we're wrapping up the series with the land of liberty, equality, and fraternity, France.

This video series is for tech professionals already living and working in the US, Canada, the UK, or the European Union.

If you're based outside these regions or in an outsourcing heavy market, the data in this video will not apply to your situation.

I do not cover immigration, international job hunting, or topics like how to break into tech without a college degree.

If that's what you're here for, this probably isn't the right channel, and that's okay.

But if you are operating within these markets, keep watching.

There's a lot ahead for various seniority levels and career tracks in tech.

Please give us a thumbs up.

We're working very hard to deliver the most accurate and up-to-date information about the current tech scene in 2025.

And as always, we're starting with tech scene and culture.

France almost avoided technical recession and layoffs in Q1 2025.

Although the growth remains very uneven, the information and communication technology sector or ICT which includes SAS, IoT, cloud, hardware, smartphones and computers, cyberc, AI, deep tech, IT consulting, data centers, has a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% since 2019.

This growth is not explosive, but it's structural and very methodical.

France's push to modernize its economy through France 2030 plan and everybody remembers the Saudi vision 2030 fuels progress in tech.

Let's talk about France's notable babies and what it is known for.

Dr. Lib Europe's top digital health platform for booking and managing medical appointments. KTO banking unicorn back marketplace for refurbished electronics and circular economy. Data IU global AI and data science platform for enterprises. Content Square B2B AI powered analytics. Mistral AI genai company and France's answer to open AI. Ledger global leader in crypto hardware wallets and digital asset security. Pascal quantum scaleup building processors with neutral atoms. Allison Bob quantum startup developing self-correcting CAD cubits for fall tolerant quantum computing.

Moving on to key market trends of 2025.

AWS and Microsoft invested 6 billion in French data centers which are projected to contribute€6.8 8 billion euros to GDP by 2031.

Cyersc market value is projected to reach 14 billion euros by 2029 with demand for AI based security products.

The 30 to 50 billion euro AI data center initiative between the UAE and France announced in early 2025 the development of Euro's largest artificial intelligent data center campus in France and the development of one of the world's largest lowcarbon supercomputers using France's nuclearpowered and lowcarbon electricity grid.

Now, why is such a big range between 30 and 50?

Because the final number depends on the duration of each phase.

France explicitly aims to be a third pole of AI power seeking to compete with the US and China while fostering European AI sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

For those of you who have been watching the where to run series, you know that I always try to look for things that make each country unique.

In Sweden, it's the highest number of unicorns per capita. In Switzerland, it's the semiconductor market. In Saudi Arabia, it's heavily funded and crazy ambitious government projects.

In France, its biggest advantage lies in its clean and affordable energy for AI infrastructure and a very coordinated techoriented national strategy.

Now, what is it about the affordable strategy that makes France the biggest hub for AI data centers?

France's energy advantage for AI infrastructure stems from its nuclear dominated energy mix which insulates it from price shocks affecting fossil fuel dependent nations like Germany.

I want to talk a little bit about why the energy crisis in Germany is much more pronounced than in France and why the tech industry in Germany was hit harder.

This strategic difference became particularly stark after 2022 when Europe stopped relying on the Russian gas.

Now, if you're wondering what does gas have to do with nuclear energy and why I'm comparing the two, let me explain.

Germany's problem is its electricity market's dependence on natural gas.

The price of electricity in Germany is heavily impacted by the cost of gas fired power plants.

Electricity remains expensive in Germany in 2025, consistently ranking among the highest in Europe and globally for both households and industry.

When the war in Ukraine began and Germany stopped buying Russian gas, the electricity prices surged, impacting all electricity consumers, including data centers.

In France, the prices didn't surge because their data centers are using the grid that is mostly nuclearpowered.

France did have some issues due to the reactor corrosion and the necessary maintenance, but the energy crisis is not nearly as bad as it is in Germany.

Germany's challenge is that even after reducing direct gas use, its electricity prices remained high due to the way the market is structured around gas fired power.

Now, a few more data points on the French energy system.

56 to 57 reactors generate 70% of France's electricity at 22% below EU average residential prices.

Nuclear power provides 247 base load power which is critical for energy hungry AI data centers with costs largely decoupled from global gas markets.

Macron's administration provides permits and actively markets France's abundant decarbonized electricity to AI firms.

They've got their marketing covered on a very high level.

Now, you may wonder why isn't Germany doing the same?

Well, it's not like they can't pull it off. It's just that there are reasons why they cannot match France's energy potential.

As of today, Germany has shut down its last three nuclear reactors in April 2023 as part of a long-standing phase out policy.

As of 2025, nuclear accounts for less than 2% of Germany's electricity generation.

The country now relies more heavily on renewables and when needed, fossil fuels, especially natural gas and coal, making its electricity supply more exposed to price volatility.

While there are political discussions about possibly reactivating recently decommissioned reactors, strong anti-uclear sentiment makes a nuclear revival unlikely in the short term.

As a result, German data centers cannot access the same scale of stable nuclear electricity as those in France.

Now, let's dig into why the nuclear grid is so important for AI data centers.

AI data centers require massive, reliable, and preferably lowcarbon electricity supplies.

France's nuclear system enables it to offer both the scale and the stability needed for hyperscale AI computing while offering competitive pricing and a lowcarbon footprint.

Germany's reliance on renewables and gas means higher price volatility, less predictability, and currently lower ability to guarantee the kind of roundthe-clock large-scale power that AI data centers demand.

Lastly, and I promise this is the last bit on the France's nuclear industry.

Why why of all places is France so big on nuclear?

Now, there's going to be a lot of interesting facts.

France's nuclear energy strategy is deeply rooted in historical, geopolitical, and economic factors and their colonial legacy.

France began its course at nuclear future to achieve energy independence in 1974, the catalyst for which was the 1973 oil crisis.

By the mid80s, nuclear provided 70% of France's electricity, peaking at 71.7% in 2018.

Now, to be able to rely on nuclear energy for such a long time and making it so stable and predictable, a country needs to have a steady nuclear fuel sourcing because nuclear energy doesn't just appear out of nowhere.

So, where has France been sourcing its uranium from?

It's been sourcing it from one of the biggest colonies in West Africa, Niger.

France secured uranium rights after Niger's 1960 independence.

Niger supplied 20% of France's uranium over the past decade and it has been historically critical to France's nuclear strategy.

In the following years, France did diversify.

Currently, they're getting 27% of fuel from Kazakhstan, 19 from Isbekiststan, and 11% from Australia.

As of today, Niger's global share is modest. Only 4% of the world production, but its high-grade ore was strategically extremely valuable.

Which other countries in Africa supplied nuclear fuel to France?

Namibia.

Namibia is one of the world's top uranium producers and has been a regular supplier to France, especially when France diversified its sources in recent years to reduce reliance on Niger.

South Africa, a major uranium exporter, has also supplied uranium to France, although its role has diminished over time as mining output declined and global supply chains shifted.

So what happened to Niger?

And this piece of news is actually very recent.

Nigra's military authorities nationalized the Somare mine in 2025, expelling France's Orana and seizing, 1100 tons of uranium.

Russian and Chinese political influence is rising rapidly in Africa, where the Russian state atomic energy corporation is now controlling Niger's uranium.

China has invested 282 billion euros in African trade and built infrastructure, displacing French economic influence.

Military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad ended French military operations in Africa.

Thanks to diversification, the French managed to prevent immediate shortage.

It is estimated that the existing uranium stocks should be able to cover 2 years of reactor needs with depleted uranium reserves, adding 7 to 8 years of buffer.

But France is yet to see long-term implications.

Loss of influence in Africa weakens France's energy diplomacy.

China and Russia now dominate 45% of global uranium enrichment capacity, potentially raising costs for France.

So France's reliance on nuclear energy and AI data center ambitions face very real disruption risks from global political shifts.

So far, in the short term, it looks very promising.

Long-term, France faces growing anti-uclear sentiment, although Macron's pro-uclear stance will keep things at bay at least until 2027.

Now, back to tech.

Let's talk about our favorite thing, the layoffs.

In 2022 and 23, France was less affected by large-scale tech layoffs compared to other western countries.

According to layoffs FYI, only a dozen or so of French companies reported cuts totaling fewer than a thousand jobs by mid 2023.

The notable layoffs included Miro 350 jobs, JellySmack nearly 200 jobs, Pay Fit 200 jobs, Back Market less than 100 jobs, Open Classrooms announced a redundancy plan, Hugging Face less than 10 employees.

2024 and 25, the pace of layoffs increased as funding conditions tightened and market volatility grew.

St Micro, you remember it from the Switzerland video, announced in May 2025 that it would cut around 1,000 jobs in France, which is 9% of the French workforce, as part of a broader plan to reduce almost 3,000 jobs globally by 2027.

Nevertheless, while France's layoffs have grown, the overall number remains lower than in the US, UK, or Germany, where thousands of people have been laid off in single rounds.

No major layoffs in product engineering or R&D at Mistral AI or other similar leading edge French AI companies.

Layoffs across French tech have primarily affected sales support and legacy operations, not core technical teams.

The narrative of AIdriven cuts in engineering is much more pronounced in US tech giants than among France's top AI innovators.

And I promise you we will be talking about AI related layoffs, but as of today the layoffs that we're seeing are not AIdriven.

Now, when talking about Europe in the context of tech, France hasn't really been known as the place for a tech career.

Education, yes, by all means, but tech career, not so much.

So, let's look into the why.

Why isn't France considered as one of the best destinations for the European tech?

Complex labor laws and worker protection.

The very laws that help the Netherlands avoid mass layoffs make it very difficult for employers to restructure quickly.

and even the Netherlands have somewhat more flexible labor practices despite also having very strong worker protections.

And that is when our camera stopped working.

If I look any different, it's because we are recording the second part on a different day.

So there you go.

The very laws that help the Netherlands avoid mass layoffs make it difficult for employers to restructure quickly.

And even the Netherlands have somewhat more flexible labor market practices despite having strong worker protections.

This is the reason why international companies do not want to adapt to the regulations that France is imposing, which makes it less attractive for fast scaling and restructuring businesses.

This rigidity often deters startups and companies that value flexibility and rapid scaling.

Now, how come the Netherlands is more popular destinations for tech workers than France despite both countries having very strict labor laws?

The Netherlands is more popular than France among tech workers due to a combination of ecosystem openness, work culture, and international accessibility.

The Dutch tech force, engineers, data scientists, product managers make between 15 to 20% more than the French.

English is widely used in the workplace, making it a lot easier for international professionals to integrate.

France is known for more restrictive immigration policies, less competitive salaries, and working conditions that are often seen as less attractive by global standards.

Dutch companies emphasize a flat egalitarian work culture, direct communication, and work life balance, including hybrid and 4-day work weeks, which is highly appealing to tactalities seeking stability and a sense of value beyond job titles.

In contrast, French corporate culture tends to be more hierarchical with decision-making concentrated at the very top.

While France has improved its corporate tax climate and it invests heavily in tech and innovation, the Dutch ecosystem seems to be more accessible and more attractive to tech workers coming from abroad.

Heavy taxation and bureaucracy.

France has a reputation for a high tax burden and complex administrative requirements, which is a barrier for entrepreneurs and foreign investors.

Labor unions and a large public sector can slow down reforms and make it harder to innovate or pivot quickly.

Innovation and startup culture. France has excelled in deep tech and industrial innovation, nuclear, aerospace, stuff like that.

But it has historically lagged in consumer focused tech.

Collaboration between universities, startups, and corporates have not been as deep or as effective as in the UK, Sweden, or the US.

Although, it is worth noting that it is improving.

Now, onto the recent shifts and Paris's rise.

Paris has now overtaken London in some tech ecosystem metrics with 5.3 times increase in startup enterprise value from 2017 to 2024 compared to London's 4.2.

The city is attracting major investments from global tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, Google and OpenAI and producing unicorns like Mistral AI and Poolside.

However, the overall French ecosystem is still catching up in terms of liquidity exits and the depth of its scaleup pipeline compared to the UK or Germany.

Another trend I found as I was doing the research is that the most top management in France are graduates of Grol.

Over 60% of the managing directors and chief executives of France's 100 largest firms hold degrees from the same institutions.

The dominance of these schools is very pronounced and it is widely discussed as a defining feature of French corporate culture with alumni networks from these schools playing a powerful role in hiring and promotion decisions.

This trend is often criticized for perpetuating a closed elite at the highest levels of French business and government and it remains a wellocumented and persistent reality.

Quality of talent. France is internationally recognized for producing top tier talent in technical and analytical fields particularly in engineering, mathematics and computer science.

Traditionally, French organizational culture has been characterized by hierarchy and at times adversarial employer employee dynamics.

However, the younger generation of French tech force is much more flexible, less likely to expect lifelong employment within a single company and place a premium on work life balance, early responsibility and meaningful work.

France ranks highly in global talent competitiveness, especially in the supply of technicians and academia talent.

The country is also a leader in R&D expenditure and high value exports reflecting its engineering strength.

Nevertheless, there are concerns about brain drain with some of the best French trained talent moving abroad, particularly to tech hubs like the Silicon Valley or London.

Now, let's talk about outsourcing trends.

Roles that require deep integration with business strategy, close collaboration with French clients, or a nuanced understanding of local regulations such as product ownership, tech leadership, client-f facing consulting, and R&D management are typically kept in-house in France.

The roles that tend to be outsourced are software developers and engineers.

These remain the most frequently nearshore roles especially for web mobile and enterprise application development.

France tends to offshore mostly to North Africa and a little bit less frequently to central and eastern Europe.

Also cloud engineering and devops, junior data scientists and AI engineers and cyber security experts as well.

French companies increasingly nearshore cyber security operations and monitoring to trusted partners in nearby regions.

And lastly, project management is also a function that is typically outsourced.

The UK leads in outsourcing volume, especially in tech and ICT.

But France is rapidly closing the gap with a strong shift towards nearshoring.

All three, the UK, France, and Germany are moving away from traditional offshoring to nearshoring for better time and cultural alignment.

The vibe creativity is deeply embedded in the French culture.

French startups are known for combining technical excellence with original, often bold ideas, reflecting a national tradition of beauty and artistry.

Now, French tech has a big influence from the government.

I would say that this is one of the signature features of the French tech.

The role that the French government plays in tech is central in nurturing the tech sector, offering significant funding, tax incentives, and streamlined visa processes for international talent.

Initiatives like La French Tech, the French Tech visa, and the deep tech plan are designed to attract talent and investment, making France highly accessible for global entrepreneurs and professionals.

The government is unusually active in supporting startups from funding to infrastructure to international promotion which is less common in other European countries.

Macron even before becoming president was instrumental in launching La French Tech, a governmentbacked initiative that provides funding, visibility, and support for startups.

As president, he implemented policies to attract international talent like the French tech visa, reformed labor laws, introduced a flat tax on capital gains, and encouraged institutional investment in startups through initiatives such as TB and the 54 billion euro France 2030 plan.

Under the current government, France has seen a dramatic increase in venture capital investment and the number of unicorns, meaning startups valued at $1 billion and over, growing from just a handful to 27 as of 2025.

France prioritizes public private partnerships exemplified by the France 2030 plan and the choose France investment summit which have brought tens of billions of euros for tech infrastructure especially in AI and data centers.

France has been actively promoted and marketed as a tech hub on the global stage hosting major summits and attracting international tech giants to invest in French R&D and infrastructure.

So say what you will about Macron. This is not a political channel at all but I got to give it to him. He did a lot of good things for the French tech.

Now, let's talk about what France's vision 2030 looks like.

For those of you who have been watching my videos, you know that there is a series of these projects across the world.

If you're interested in comparing the two, you're welcome to check out our UAE and Saudi Arabia episode.

France's vision 2030 is a large-scale 54 billion euro national strategy to transform the country into a global leader in technology.

It was launched in 2021 by President Mccron.

The plan targets the lasting transformation of key sectors, energy, technology, health, and agriculture through technological innovation and research.

Here are some of France's vision 2030 goals. Doubling the number of AI specialists, making France a leader in embedded and trustworthy AI. Securing the supply of critical semiconductors, establishing at least 100 unicorns, including 25 green tech or climate tech unicorns by 2030.

Now, I don't know if that's achievable given that they're at 27 in 2025, but that's the plan.

The strategy also prioritizes reindustrialization, tech skill development from early education, and the full digitalization of 250 essential public services.

Now, let's talk about how much has been actually achieved so far.

The number of deep tech startups in France has increased by over 50% since 2019, reaching 2500 by 2023 and creating tens of thousands of jobs.

However, the pace of turning scientific research into commercial innovation is still slower than that in the US or the UK, prompting additional investment and new initiatives to double annual deep tech startup creation by 2030.

The French Tech 2030 program now supports 125 high potential startups with financial and strategic resources focusing on sectors like AI, quantum, semiconductors, and green tech.

Nearly half of the France 2030 budget has been allocated to decarbonization and green industry projects, including grants, new tax credits, and streamline procedures for industrial investments.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the 2025 budget reduced some of the tax breaks for R&D intensive startups and cut funding for France 2030 by over€2 billion.

France has surpassed the EU average for basic and advanced digital skill and is rolling out large-scale training and upskilling programs for the current workforce to meet AI skill demand.

The skilled and jobs of the future initiative alone has€2.5 billion e budget to accelerate digital and R&D training.

Quantum and semiconductor ambitions. France has committed over€1 billion euros in public funding plus private investment to quantum technologies with a goal to produce at least two quantum computer prototypes by 2030.

In the semiconductor space, President Mccron has set a national ambition to manufacture advanced chips from 2 to 10 nanometers and partnerships with global leaders like Nvidia and others.

Although I got to mention that France has not yet produced those cuttingedge chips.

So to sum it up, France 2030 has already led to a surge in deep tech startups and significant investment in tech skills and infrastructure.

While some flagship ambitions like the cutting edge chip manufacturing and quantum computing are still in very early stages, the country has made measurable advances and remains on track for most of its 2030 targets.

Cost of living. The cost of living in France's major tech hubs Paris, Leon, and Tulus reflects both the vibrancy and the challenges of the innovation centers.

Paris remains the most expensive city with high rents, daily expenses, and a premium lifestyle. They can stretch even generous tax salaries.

Leong and Tulus, while still offering tech scenes and career opportunities in tech, are noticeably more affordable, but the salaries are obviously lower as well.

Over the past 5 years, living costs have gradually increased in all major cities, but the difference between Paris and the regional hubs has become even more pronounced.

As a result, many tech workers and companies are increasingly drawn to cities like Leong and Tulus with balance between career prospects and quality of life.

Knowing that the cost of living is less likely to erode the benefits of a competitive salary.

France has pulled off something that nobody thought it would.

A country notorious for bureaucracy has become Europe's AI battleground.

While rigid labor laws were supposed to kill innovation, they actually created stability that attracted billions in long-term investments.

Nuclear power has become the ultimate competitive advantage in the age of energy hungry AI.

But this success story comes with an expiration date.

France's uranium pipeline from Niger is severed.

Chinese and Russian influence is spreading across their former colonies.

And those 56 nuclear reactors need massive constant maintenance, costly repairs and significant reinvestment.

The very foundation of France's tech advantage is built on shifting geopolitical sands.

So the question is whether France can sustain this energy momentum because in the world where AI runs on electricity, the country that solves the energy equation wins everything.

Before we wrap up, I would like to say thank you to all of you who joined us on this journey across 10 countries, 10 very different ecosystems, and 10 very different paths forward.

The tech world is changing faster than ever, and I'm going to continue researching and studying the tech world we have been dealt.

Thank you very much for your feedback, for your support.

And while this series is wrapping up, we will be back very soon with a new series of videos dedicated to AIdriven shifts in the tech ecosystem.

We will draw a very clear line between what's noise and what's reality and when panic overtakes logic.

Please stay with us.

We will be back very soon.

We will take a quick break next week celebrating Canada Day and July 4th.

So, to all of our subscribers in Canada and in the US, happy Canada Day and happy 4th of July.

As always, I hope this was helpful.

We'll see you next time.