France's energy ministry said it will open a call for tenders for 10 gigawatts of offshore wind projects, with the announcement made on Thursday and the formal tender due to start on Friday. Most of the sites under consideration are located along the country's west coast.
The package is evenly split between two technology types: 5 GW set aside for fixed-bottom wind farms and 5 GW for floating wind farms. Officials had previously indicated an intention to launch this solicitation in 2024.
The French projects form part of a national objective to grow offshore wind generation from a level below 2 GW today to 15 GW by 2035. The broader European offshore wind fleet was reported at just under 40 GW at the end of 2025, according to industry group WindEurope.
Fixed-bottom wind farms employ turbines mounted on foundations anchored to the seabed. This approach is the more established method and is generally less expensive than floating alternatives. Floating wind farms, by contrast, place turbines on buoyant platforms that are anchored to the seabed, allowing developments in deeper waters but introducing greater cost and complexity through their platforms, mooring arrangements and installation needs.
Offshore wind developments have encountered difficulties in recent years as rising costs and political opposition in certain countries have prompted some companies to cancel planned projects. The article notes that the Trump administration in the United States opposed such projects.
Context for markets and financing
From a financing and sectoral perspective, the split between fixed and floating technologies has implications for capital intensity and project risk profiles. Floating schemes, which require more complex platforms and moorings, are likely to have higher upfront capital and installation needs compared with fixed-bottom projects. At the same time, concentration of the tendered sites on the west coast focuses development activity geographically.
The ministry's tender is a step toward the stated 2035 capacity target but must contend with the cost pressures and political resistance that have affected offshore projects in multiple jurisdictions.