Alibaba Cloud Opens First Cloud Region in France, Expanding European Footprint
June 17, 2026
Alibaba Cloud Opens First Cloud Region in France, Expanding European Footprint
Alibaba Cloud has officially launched a new cloud region in France, marking a significant step in the Chinese technology giant’s strategy to deepen its presence in the European market. The new region, housed in data centers located in Paris, is the company’s third in Europe, following existing facilities in Germany and the United Kingdom.
The cloud region consists of two availability zones, designed to provide customers with enhanced redundancy and low-latency services. With this launch, Alibaba Cloud now operates a total of 105 availability zones across 32 regions globally, underscoring its continued international expansion. The company emphasized that the infrastructure was built with “strict data privacy and sovereignty in mind” to ensure compliance with “rigorous European regulatory frameworks and standards.”
“The expansion of our cloud infrastructure into France reinforces our ongoing commitment to empowering European businesses with sovereign, secure, and intelligent solutions,” said Dr. Feifei Li, CTO and president of international business at Alibaba Cloud. “This expansion, alongside the introduction of our agentic AI services to Europe, aligns with our broader strategy to bring our full-stack AI+Cloud ecosystem to global customers as we enter the agentic era.”
Alibaba Cloud’s European journey began in 2016 with its first data center in Frankfurt, Germany, operated in partnership with Vodafone Germany. The company now has three data center locations in Germany and began offering services in the United Kingdom in 2018 from two London-based data centers. The company has not disclosed which data center operator it is partnering with for the new France region.
The launch comes amid a major global expansion push by Alibaba Cloud over the past year. In June 2025, CEO Eddie Wu confirmed plans to invest approximately $52.7 billion in building a “unified global cloud network,” with the company later considering increasing that figure to $69 billion. Earlier this month, Alibaba Cloud also added a new two-availability-zone region in Johor, Malaysia, its second in the country.
The expansion into France not only strengthens Alibaba Cloud’s competitive position against Western hyperscalers but also signals growing demand for sovereign cloud solutions in Europe. As businesses across the continent increasingly prioritize data localization and regulatory compliance, Alibaba Cloud’s investment in French infrastructure positions it to capture a larger share of the European cloud market, particularly among enterprises seeking alternatives to U.S.-based providers.
Source: datacenterdynamics
