France leads a €1.5 billion investment in Eutelsat, urging other EU states to back it as a European alternative to Starlink

France has pledged to invest €750M in debt-laden Eutelsat, leading a €1.5B investment from European Union member states. Europe is investing heavily in the satellite market to reduce its reliance on U.S. technology. France is stepping up its efforts to build a European rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink, urging other European Union member states to invest in the satellite operator Eutelsat. The French government is leading a €1.5B capital increase to strengthen the company’s position in the highly competitive low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite market.