Data Centers in Chartres

Chartres – Strategic & Resilient Paris Alternative

Executive Summary

Chartres is an emerging edge data center market best suited for businesses requiring a resilient secondary or disaster recovery site outside the primary Paris hub. Its strategic location offers a compelling balance of lower operational risk and cost while maintaining low-latency connectivity to France's main digital ecosystem. This makes it a strong choice for enterprises focused on uptime and business continuity.

Chartres: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

As a secondary market, Chartres's connectivity is defined by its proximity to Paris, the undisputed national hub.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The market has access to over a dozen national and regional carriers, as of September 2025. While not as dense as Paris, carrier-neutral facilities provide sufficient options for redundant connectivity.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There are no direct public cloud on-ramps within Chartres, as of September 2025. All major cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, are accessed via dedicated fiber connections to interconnection hubs in Paris.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is not a feature of this market. All peering is conducted privately or through major exchanges in Paris, such as France-IX, ensuring efficient traffic exchange.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server availability is good, with providers like OVHcloud offering dedicated server solutions in the region, suitable for workloads requiring direct hardware access.

Power Analysis

France's power infrastructure is a key advantage for data center operations in markets like Chartres.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power costs are estimated between €0.18 and €0.22/kWh, as of September 2025. This pricing is influenced by a national energy mix dominated by nuclear power (~68%), providing price stability compared to markets reliant on fossil fuels.

Power Grid Reliability: The national power grid is well-engineered and highly reliable. Data centers in the region typically source power from multiple substations, ensuring high levels of uptime for critical operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Chartres offers strategic advantages for businesses serving both the capital and central France.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: The market provides low-latency connectivity to the major business districts of Paris. This makes it an ideal location for disaster recovery and off-site data protection for financial, commercial, and technology companies based in the capital.

Regional Market Reach: From Chartres, organizations can effectively serve customers across north-central and western France. Its location avoids the congestion and higher costs of Paris while reaching a significant portion of the country's population.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: France actively supports digital infrastructure through targeted financial programs. The availability of European Investment Bank (EIB) loan financing for data center projects signals a favorable climate for technology investment and can result in more competitive colocation pricing.

Natural Disaster Risk

Chartres is located in a region with a very low risk profile for natural disasters, making it an excellent choice for resilient infrastructure.

The overall INFORM risk score is 2.7 out of 10, classifying the area as "Low Risk," as of September 2025. While the overall threat is minimal, key environmental factors to consider include:

• River Flood: This is the most significant natural hazard for the region.
• Earthquake: Seismic risk is present but very low.
• Drought: Occasional drought conditions may occur but pose little direct risk to secured data center facilities.