Search giant looks to Châteauroux for first self-built project in France
Google is eyeing a potential data center campus in Châteauroux, France.
“Châteauroux Métropole is proud and pleased to see Tricolore Computing, a subsidiary of Google, to mark its interest in the Ozans CBA for the potential establishment of a data center campus, linked to the development of artificial intelligence,” the Châteauroux local government announced this week.
The search and cloud giant is reportedly looking to acquire 195 hectares of land for €58.5 million ($68m), for what would be its first self-built project in France. Further details on the number and specifications of planned data centers on the site haven’t been shared.
“We are exploring the possibility of acquiring land in Châteauroux for the potential expansion of our cloud infrastructure and data centers in France,” a Google spokesperson told local press.
The Châteauroux Métropole Community Council is due to discuss the deal at a meeting this week.
Châteauroux is located in the Indre department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region of central France.
“This project, still in the preliminary phase of land studies, illustrates the credibility and growing attractiveness of Châteauroux, as a result of patient and committed work for economic development,” said the mayor of Châteauroux, Gil Avérous.
In a joint statement, the prefect of Indre, Thibault Lanxade, and the president of the Indre Departmental Council, Marc Fleuret, said his organization "congratulates the agglomeration community of Châteauroux Métropole for this excellent news.”
"This site with very great potential had already benefited from the 'key industrial sites in hand' qualification and was identified as one of the 55 industrial sites located in France, able to host this type of activity."
Google launched a cloud region in Paris, France, in June 2022. A water leak and fire at a Global Switch data center in Paris in April 2023 caused Google’s europe-west9-a to be brought down.
