“Good news in the eyes of the French authorities. » This was the first reaction of the office of the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, to the announcement of the gigantic investment plan unveiled on Tuesday March 15 by the American semiconductor giant Intel for new establishments on the Old continent. Not even the slightest trace of disappointment.
However, the Santa Clara (California) company has chosen to set up its two new factories in Germany, with an investment of 17 billion dollars (15.5 billion euros) and tens of thousands of jobs at stake. . A failure for France, which had clearly applied to host these production chains.
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, had spoken with the CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger, during the Choose France summit, on June 28, 2021, at the Palace of Versailles, in order to convince him to prefer France to the candidates. Italian, German and Dutch. “At the time, I explained to him all the options that were on the table, from R&D [recherche et développement] to the factories, and he had been enthusiastic”, Mr. Gelsinger said on Tuesday. France had in any case submitted to Intel the list of several sites likely to host these installations.
“Superb infrastructure”
What did France miss to win the bet? At Bercy, some recognize that the German ecosystem in semiconductors is more powerful, with in particular the presence of leading customers, starting with car manufacturers. In a press release, Intel also underlines Germany’s central position in Europe and the presence “top talent and a superb infrastructure”. Another argument that is not mentioned in the text: the financial support offered by Berlin. No figures were given, but Mr. Gelsinger admits that this element was taken into consideration to ensure that the site was profitable.
Ultimately, France will have to content itself with hosting an R&D center specializing in the fields of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, on the Saclay plateau, in Essonne. France is also set to become Intel’s main European center for the design of its foundries. In total, 450 jobs should be created by the end of 2024 and a thousand eventually. As for the amount of investments, again, no figures have been communicated, but it is admitted that they will be disproportionate to those of the Magdeburg site (eastern Germany).
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