Eric Schmidt's foundation funds French NGO fighting against data centers
StephanSturges · x · 2026-11-12
Stephan Sturges highlighted an odd tension: Eric Schmidt's foundation (Schmidt Center) is a major supporter of Les Amis de la Terre France, an NGO actively campaigning against data centers in France.
Per its newsletter (in the screenshots), the NGO published a data center primer claiming France's 350 existing data centers enjoy discounted electricity and grid-priority connections, with roughly 100 new projects under construction or review; it warns of water/electricity/materials consumption competing with citizens and the energy transition, citing blackouts linked to data centers in Mexico and the US.
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