TECH NEWS – French President Emmanuel Macron plans to bring TSMC and Samsung to France to manufacture advanced technology chips locally.

Due to the drastic evolution of global supply chains, nations have shifted their focus to meeting the demand for chips by manufacturing them locally. This trend began after Trump’s reelection when he designated chip manufacturing as a national security issue and attracted large-scale investments, particularly from TSMC. At the VivaTech conference, Macron expressed his intention to develop the country’s supply of high-tech semiconductors, stating that it had become a necessity.

Macron emphasized the importance of semiconductors to nations around the world. He revealed his interest in developing facilities capable of producing nodes between 2 and 10 nanometers. Given France’s available resources, setting up facilities in the region would likely require an external entity. Macron said he would have to convince either TSMC or Samsung to “set up” in the country. Europe seems ready to move toward independence in the chip sector, but it remains to be seen whether this is feasible.

Europe had high hopes for access to advanced chips when TSMC announced a government-funded megaproject in Germany. However, there appears to be little optimism about the prospect of TSMC’s German facility becoming operational shortly. France and other countries are not involved in developing products that require high-end semiconductors and are probably content with mature nodes, such as 16 nm, especially for the automotive industry. Thus, the prospects of TSMC and Samsung setting up a fab in France are slim.

Nevertheless, given the shift in manufacturing from east to west, Europe will need a consistent chip source. If Europe sources chips from the U.S., it will likely pay an “American premium” in the form of tariffs. Likewise, if the region does not have its own supply, China and similar nations may be forced to supply their chips to the region, thereby increasing their influence on domestic production.

Source: WCCFTech, UDN