France has announced a large-scale investment project in the field of space technologies, committing over 717 million euros to the development of its own satellite infrastructure
This news was confirmed by the country's Minister of Economy, Éric Lombard, who stated that the appropriate contribution will be made to the French satellite communications operator — Eutelsat, which holds an important position in the global market and is the main competitor to the American giant Starlink, owned by Elon Musk. Highlighting the geopolitical context, Lombard emphasized that this initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the European Union's strategic autonomy in digital technologies and space exploration. Recently, relations between the United States and Europe in high-tech sectors have become increasingly complicated, particularly due to the policies of the Donald Trump administration, which has demonstrated growing antagonism towards European partners. In such conditions, Europe is placing greater importance on relying on its own resources and developing independent technological platforms. According to Lombard, the French government plans to increase its stake in Eutelsat to 30% from the current 13.6%, while the UK's share, presently at 10.9%, should decrease to approximately 8%. These steps aim not only to strengthen French control over strategic infrastructure but also to create conditions for establishing a unified European space, capable of countering external players' challenges. A significant aspect of this strategy is preparing for a mass concentration within the satellite communications sector on European companies. For example, in April, the European Commission granted unconditional approval for the Luxembourg-based company SES to acquire its competitor, Intelsat, for approximately €2.8 billion. This decision opens opportunities to create a more powerful and independent telecommunications network based on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which is critically important in the context of global competition in the space sector. Currently, the global players in satellite communications are in intense competition. American companies Viasat, AST SpaceMobile, and the Amazon Kuiper subsidiary are actively preparing to launch new constellations of satellites in low Earth orbit to secure their market positions. No less ambitious are Chinese state corporations such as China SatNet and Spacesail, which also intend to develop truly large-scale projects in this field. Regarding the situation in Ukraine, it reflects the complex political and social dramas in this sphere. In April this year, Eutelsat announced that it would not be able to immediately regain control over Elon Musk’s project during the war, which allowed Ukrainian military personnel to access the internet quickly and reliably via the Starlink satellite network. Earlier reports indicated that Germany was partially funding Ukrainian users' access to this network, managed by Eutelsat. A particularly vivid expression of political tension was a cautionary statement by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who warned Elon Musk against possible blackmail of Ukraine through access to Starlink. According to him, Poland is the one paying for the terminals and services, so reducing or blocking the network for Ukrainian military personnel would not only be a political move by Musk but also a significant challenge for the entire international community. Overall, the situation in Europe's space sector remains highly dynamic and tense. In addition to competition with American and Chinese players, EU countries are increasing investments to modernize their own infrastructure and reduce dependence on external suppliers. The major projects include an ambitious strategy to deploy their own satellites into orbit and policies aimed at creating a single European space environment, designed to ensure security, digital sovereignty, and economic development of the continent in this new era of space technology.