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France's Quantum Push: Pasqal, Alice & Bob, Quandela and the National Strategy

Updated | 4 min read | QUANTUM (QNT) community

A country with a quantum cluster

France is one of the few places in the world where several quantum hardware companies grew up within a few hours of each other, fed by strong physics and mathematics schools and by public money. The national strategy has been reported to be in its second phase in 2026, following announcements by President Macron on 22 May at the CEA's Très Grand Centre de Calcul (TGCC). The sources read for this page did not include the strategy text itself or a confirmed second-phase budget, so check French government publications for the exact figure.

Machines next to supercomputers

The TGCC, near Paris, now hosts two quantum machines. One is Lucy, the photonic quantum computer built by Quandela and inaugurated by EuroHPC on 14 April 2026 at a reported cost of 8.5 million euros (see EuroHPC quantum computers). The other is Ruby, an analogue neutral-atom simulator from Pasqal, inaugurated at the end of 2025 under the HPCQS project. Reporting from The Quantum Insider also says GENCI and Alice & Bob signed an agreement at VivaTech on 17 June 2026 for France to acquire an 18 cat-qubit computer, and that a third machine is planned for 2027. Treat those as reported plans.

PROQCIMA: a competition for fault tolerance

PROQCIMA, also called LSQUARE, is a defence-backed program reported to commit 500 million euros towards a French fault-tolerant quantum computer. Reports describe a shared target of a 128 logical qubit demonstrator by 2030 and 2,048 logical qubits by 2035, run as a competition that narrows from five companies to three and then two. Logical qubits are error-protected qubits, the building block of useful machines (see quantum error correction). One twist from September 2026: Pasqal announced on 28 September that it would end its participation, saying it had completed all its technology objectives in the first phase and would refocus its public-sector work on commercial applications. That is a good example of why plans should be read as moving targets.

The three names to know

Pasqal

Pasqal builds neutral-atom machines, where laser tweezers hold single atoms in place. For the first half of 2026 it reported revenue of 4.9 million euros (up 14%), QPU-related services revenue of 3.9 million euros (up 34%), booked and awarded business of 70.4 million euros as of 30 June, an operating loss of 59.2 million euros and cash of 110.8 million euros. Technical milestones included 1,024-atom registers, logical-qubit work and integration with NVIDIA's CUDA-Q. Some reports mention a planned public listing through a business combination, but the status was not confirmed in the sources read.

Alice & Bob

Alice & Bob works on cat qubits, a type of superconducting qubit designed so that one kind of error is strongly suppressed, which could cut the number of physical qubits needed per logical qubit. Reported 2026 news includes the Helium Quantum System unveiled in June, work with Bull on quantum-HPC integration, and a 17 September announcement that CEA and Alice & Bob will develop software linking quantum processors with conventional supercomputers.

Quandela

Quandela builds photonic quantum computers that use particles of light as qubits and can run at room temperature. Its Lucy system is the French EuroHPC machine. Reported 2026 news includes a 14 September white paper on integrating its photonic processor with NVIDIA infrastructure, partnerships in Vietnam and Canada, and reported exploration of chip manufacturing collaboration with South Korean firms.

Beyond the big three

The same September 2026 roundup mentions Quobly, which reported qubit readout and gates on 300 mm chips made at STMicroelectronics in Crolles, and a five year project called Aliquante involving Thales, Bull and CEA to build a sovereign software platform for programming future French quantum computers in classified settings. That is a sign of how seriously defence and industry take the field.

What is solid and what is not

The optimistic read

France combines public buyers, a defence-grade fault-tolerance contest, and three different hardware ideas on one soil. Even when a participant changes course, as Pasqal did, the competition produces progress and trained engineers. Pair this with Germany and the European overview for the full picture. Mentioning companies here is education, not financial advice, and the QNT memecoin has no connection to any of them.

Sources and further reading

Reported as of 2026-10-09. Government budgets and company roadmaps change often, so check the primary documents before relying on any figure. This page is education, not financial advice. The QNT memecoin is independent and is not linked to any company, lab or government named here, including the real company Quantinuum Ltd.

Frequently asked questions

What is PROQCIMA?

A defence-backed French program reported to commit 500 million euros towards a fault-tolerant quantum computer, run as a competition between several companies.

What is Lucy?

A 12-qubit photonic quantum computer from Quandela, inaugurated by EuroHPC near Paris on 14 April 2026 at a reported cost of 8.5 million euros.

Did Pasqal leave the French defence program?

Reported yes: on 28 September 2026 Pasqal said it would end participation after completing its first-phase objectives, refocusing on commercial applications.

Is QNT connected to Pasqal, Alice & Bob or Quandela?

No. QNT is an independent memecoin with no link to any company or government. This is not financial advice.

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