At the Eurosatory exhibition, Occitanie launches, with two other regions, a €150 million offensive to strengthen the French defense industry

It is in an international context marked by the return of high intensity conflicts, the rise of hybrid threats and the imperatives of industrial sovereignty that the president of the Occitanie region visited the Eurosatory exhibition for the first time. This June 17, 2026, Carole Delga took advantage of the holding of this show in Paris dedicated to defense to launch a new offensive.

Just one year after the launch of her €200 million regional defense plan intended to boost businesses in the sector, Carole Delga presented a new battle plan and announced a reinforcement of troops. With the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Brittany regions, the three communities have in fact announced the creation of an interregional Defense and Sovereignty fund. Thanks to the support of major defense industrialists, institutional investors and banks, this fund could reach €150 million. The three regions will contribute a total of €25 million.

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A “little helping hand” to change scale

This investment fund aims to strengthen strategic defense SMEs and ETIs with more than five years of experience. They will be able to receive between 500,000 euros and 10 million euros. “The idea is that they accelerate innovation, industrial transfer and production. We know most of the companies that will be selected, because we have been following them for several years with the Primus* cluster. There, they are at a stage of growth where we need to give them a little help to that they change scale”, specifies the president of the Occitanie region.

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By pooling their resources for the benefit of strategic companies, the three communities intend to consolidate the place occupied by the defense sector within their territories and have influence at European and global levels. The three regions alone bring together more than 1,300 companies from the French Defense Industrial and Technological Base (BITD).