Amazon plans to invest 1.2 bn euros in France: Macron's office
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US e-commerce giant Amazon will invest more than 1.2 billion euros in France, creating more than 3,000 jobs, French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Sunday.
The money will help develop Amazon Web Services' (AWS) cloud infrastructure, mainly generative artificial intelligence, and the logistical infrastructure of its parcel delivery service, a statement added.
The statement came on the eve of the seventh Choose France Summit, the aim of which is to attract foreign investors to the country. Macron will host it at the Chateau of Versailles near Paris.
Amazon did not respond to approaches by AFP on Sunday, having recently said it did not want to make any comment ahead of a possible announcement that would be made at the event.
The US company has already announced the creation of 2,000 new jobs in France in 2024, which would bring its staff workforce in the country up to 24,000 by the end of the year, mainly in its logistics centres.
AWS is a key subsidiary of the group, having made $25 billion worldwide in the first quarter, capitalising on the growing appetite among businesses for remote computer and artificial intelligence services.
As Choose France prepared to get under way, several pharmaceutical groups, including US group Pfizer and Britain's AstraZeneca, announced on Sunday commitments to invest more than a billion euros more in France's health sector.
The largest industrial project announced so far is a potential fertiliser factory, which could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
European consortium FertigHy is to announce it is looking at investing 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) into a factory in the Somme region in northern France, Industry Minister Roland Lescure told France's La Tribune Dimanche newspaper.