PARIS — France will inject €717 million (US$826 million) into satellite operator Eutelsat as part of a major capital increase to boost the development of a European low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, marking a decisive step towards reducing Europe’s reliance on foreign systems like SpaceX’s Starlink.
The announcement, made Thursday by the French finance ministry, signals a significant strategic move to advance Europe’s digital and defense sovereignty. The investment will increase France’s stake in Eutelsat to around 30%, up from below 20%, consolidating its role as the largest shareholder in the multinational satellite firm.
“This increased investment reflects a clear desire to make satellite connectivity a strategic lever for digital and industrial sovereignty for our country and for Europe,” said French Finance Minister Eric Lombard on social media.
The €1.35 billion capital increase by Eutelsat is intended to finance the renewal and expansion of the OneWeb LEO satellite constellation, which the company merged with in 2023. Eutelsat’s enhanced role in European space ambitions also includes key involvement in the IRIS² project, the European Union’s planned sovereign satellite broadband system.
France’s financial commitment comes in parallel with a new 10-year defense contract announced by the Directorate General for Armament (DGA), potentially worth up to €1 billion.
Under the deal, Eutelsat will provide advanced satellite communications capabilities for the French military, including priority access to OneWeb’s LEO constellation and improved satellite security measures.
The military component of the initiative is being carried out under a program named “Nexus,” which aims to complement the Syracuse geostationary satellites currently used by France’s armed forces. Nexus seeks to integrate commercial LEO satellite capabilities with dedicated military assets, expanding secure communication options for future defense operations.
“The goal is to hybridize France’s satellite communications systems by combining civilian and military technologies,” the DGA said in a statement. “This will increase operational flexibility and enhance the resilience of communications infrastructure in contested environments.”
European defense officials have closely followed the role Starlink has played in Ukraine, where the SpaceX system has proven indispensable for maintaining secure battlefield communications, drone control, and data transmission.
While the EU’s IRIS² project is still in the early stages, the continent currently lacks a comparable operational system, making investments like France’s critical.
Eutelsat is part of a broader European consortium — alongside SES of Luxembourg and Spain’s Hispasat — selected by the European Commission in November 2023 to develop and deploy the IRIS² constellation. The initiative is seen as a cornerstone of the EU’s space and defense strategy for the coming decade.
With increasing geopolitical tensions and growing cybersecurity concerns, both France and the broader EU are pushing to reduce strategic dependencies on non-European technologies — particularly those controlled by private entities outside the continent.
The dual civilian-military approach embodied in France’s investment and defense contract with Eutelsat underscores the shifting priorities of European space policy: resilience, sovereignty, and secure connectivity in an increasingly contested orbital domain.
