Data centres: ‘A matter of digital and energy sovereignty for France’ (S. Fauré, Upside)

“Data centres are truly strategic facilities, at the crossroads of the digital sector, energy, industry and regional development. The question is not whether or not we need data centres: we will inevitably have them. The question is where to locate them, how to design them and how to ensure they create maximum value for local areas and for the French and European economies,” said Stéphanie Fauré, a partner at the consultancy firm Upside, speaking to News Tank on 8 September 2026.

In August 2026, Upside published a white paper on the siting of data centres and their integration into French regions.

“We need to move away from an approach based solely on investment attractiveness and towards a genuine industrial and regional strategy. France has significant assets, notably carbon-free…