France Invests Over €700 Million in Eutelsat as an Alternative to Starlink

France is investing €717 million in the satellite operator Eutelsat as an alternative to the American Starlink.

Éric Lombard, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, announced this, according to Euractiv.

In doing so, France will increase its ownership stake in the company, which will enhance its autonomy in providing satellite communication for itself and for Europe.

“The French state’s stake reflects a clear intention: to position satellite communication as a strategic tool to promote digital and industrial sovereignty in France and across Europe,” Lombard wrote on the social network X on June 19.

As noted by the publication, the current ownership of Eutelsat is divided between France, which owns 13.6%, the United Kingdom, which owns 10.9%, and other shareholders.

As a result of the announced increase in funding, France’s sovereign stake is expected to rise to 30%, while the United Kingdom’s stake is expected to decrease to approximately 8%.

It is worth recalling that due to potential issues with Starlink in the Ukrainian Defense Forces, given Donald Trump’s then-position, it became known back in March that the European Union had been negotiating with four European satellite internet operators to replace it.

These were major satellite operators: Luxembourg’s SES, Spain’s Hisdesat, Britain’s Viasat, and the Franco-British Eutelsat/OneWeb.

Later, Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke told Politico that the company’s satellite network would not be able to fully replace the American Starlink terminals in the Ukrainian military.

“If we took all the available capacity that could be connected to Ukraine, we still wouldn’t be able to do it. Let’s be honest. But I think we can provide potential for some critical needs,” said Berneke.

The American network currently has over 7,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, which is an order of magnitude more than Eutelsat’s fleet of 600 satellites. According to Politico, there were over 42,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine last year.

Meanwhile, the European Union is simultaneously working on a fully sovereign satellite communication system called IRIS², which could become a competitor to American Starlink. However, its launch is not expected until the early 2030s.