France joins the US, UK, and Italy in lining sovereign export credit behind its contractors for Saudi giga-projects

France has become the latest sovereign to line state-backed export credit behind its own contractors as they compete for Saudi contracting and supply work. As part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Paris visit that produced 21 Saudi-French agreements at the start of the week, three agreements will see Bpifrance back financing tranches worth c. USD 13 bn. That makes it one of the biggest single export credit agency-backed packages in a field that already includes the US, the UK, and Italy.

The comparative picture: PIF signed an MoU with the US Export-Import Bank (US EXIM) in July, establishing a framework for up to USD 15 bn in long-term financing for PIF portfolio companies to procure US-sourced goods and services. This followed a reins. framework signed between US EXIM and Saudi EXIM for US capital-goods exports in April. Last October, the PIF signed a separate MoU with UK Export Finance (UKEF) that put GBP 4-5 bn (c. USD 6.8 bn) of risk appetite behind British suppliers going to Saudi. Earlier in 2025, Italy’s SACE backed EUR 3 bn of NEOM financing after a visit from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Now, it’s France’s turn. Bpifrance Assurance Export is stepping in to derisk and fund French operators in the Kingdom:

• The Finance Ministry and Bpifrance are setting up an initial USD 5 bn credit line to finance and refinance contracts executed by French companies in Saudi Arabia;
• A separate roughly USD 5 bn package is envisioned for the National Debt Management Center to fund Riyadh Metro work, the Sharaan Hotel at AlUla, and rolling stock for Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup;
• Saudi Energy secured a USD 3 bn financing framework with Bpifrance, coordinated by BNP Paribas and HSBC, to develop its electricity grid.

The corporate deal flow that came in parallel:

• Energy: Aramco signed USD 3.7 bn in procurement agreements with French oilfield services firms SLB and Vallourec;
• Transport: Alstom won a EUR 500 mn contract for Riyadh Metro Lines 3 and 6, while CMA CGM and Red Sea Gateway Terminal agreed to a EUR 434 mn investment to develop Terminal 4 at Jeddah Islamic Port;
• Tech: French AI firm Mistral and PIF-owned Humain struck a strategic cooperation framework to jointly develop and commercialise AI models.

Capital is flowing the other way, too. Saudi entertainment group Qiddiya will invest EUR 6 bn (c. USD 7 bn) in three amusement parks near Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris, including a Dragon Ball Z manga-themed park. The project is expected to create 22k jobs in the Paris area, and stems from a shared interest in manga discovered in a 2025 meeting between MbS and Macron.

The two nations are also coordinating on regional economic architecture, launching a joint Saudi-Syrian-French business council to drive investment in Syria, positioning the country as a trade bridge connecting Europe, the Gulf, and Asia.

What's next? France is already the fourth-largest source of FDI into Saudi Arabia, with EUR 16.3 bn deployed in 2024. As the state-backed credit lines activate, expect French contractors, defence firms, and tech players to scale their footprints in the Kingdom — and Saudi capital to increasingly target European leisure and real estate assets.