Google is planning its first self-built data center in France near Châteauroux, with an environmental consultation now underway

France's National Commission for Public Debate has launched a public consultation to study the environmental impact of a proposed Google data center near Châteauroux in central France, after receiving a letter from Google and two of its subsidiaries. Google has been seeking to buy approximately 195 acres at the Ozans Business Park for around $68M, according to Datacenter Dynamics, though capacity and construction timelines have not been confirmed. Google currently has no self-built data centers in France, relying instead on third-party infrastructure from Equinix and Digital Realty alongside a sovereign cloud partnership with French IT firm Thales.