Overview

• Subscriptions opened on October 14 for the Bpifrance Défense fund, which is designed to channel household savings into France’s and Europe’s defense industrial and technology base.
• Investments range from €500 to €500,000, with money generally locked for five years and a recommended long‑term horizon of about ten years.
• The fund signals expected annual returns around 4.5% to 5%, but it provides no guarantee and warns of possible partial or total loss of capital.
• Roughly half of the capital will be deployed through Bpifrance vehicles such as the Fonds innovation défense, with the remainder invested via specialist and generalist funds and listed assets; investors cannot select individual projects.
• Bpifrance says about 30% of supported companies will be European and the product could be offered in other EU countries, with the program aiming to back around 500 firms as NATO spending targets and BITD financing needs rise.