In the global artificial intelligence game, l’Europe, and France in particular, is late. To help ring the alarm, the first world summit on artificial intelligence (AI Action Summit) will be held in Paris on February 10 and 11, 2025, preceded a few days earlier by a national summit on the same theme. In view of this deadline, Medef and Numeum, the largest organization of digital professionals in France, took their pilgrim's staff for an AI tour of France to make businesses aware of the ongoing technological revolution. This AI tour of France was launched from Reunion Island.
Twenty steps, from October 30 until February 4, including a majority of medium-sized towns : the AI tour de France is like a vast awareness-raising operation. “I have the impression of reliving what we experienced, fifteen years ago, with the arrival of all digital. Something considerable is being structured around AI, where sectoral issues intersect, of trades and territories”, testifies Yannick Bérezaie, general director of Isodom and regional delegate of Numeum, to whom we owe the proposal to launch the AI Tour de France in Reunion. The different stages follow an established pattern of events and sequences that, in the meeting, articulated the 29, October 30 and 31. An organization in partnership with Digital Réunion, the Reunion association of digital professionals. In the fact that Reunion was the starting point of this national operation, we must also see a recognition of the maturity reached by the Reunion tech ecosystem. This local tech has had news almost every week for a month and a half. And while Medef Réunion held its general assembly on October 29, the second French Tech Connect meetings also took place over the same period. This combination of meetings brought out an image of cohesion among digital players in front of important external guests. : Véronique Torner, president of Numeum, Garance Pineau, general director of Medef France, Bruno Arcadipane, vice-president of Medef France, or again Axel Dauchez, figure of French tech, founder of the global civic engagement platform Make.org, former pilot of the success of Deezer and at the origin of the Viva Technology show.
Collective play as an example
The Réunion team presented itself as united beyond just the tech ecosystem. Institutions reiterated their commitment to innovation. Starting with the Réunion Region and the regional agency for innovation. Likewise, the prefecture of Reunion and the Department,aware of the social applications of tech. On his side, France Travail announced the launch in La Réunion of Numéric’Emploi, training system for digital professions designed with Numeum. Among the private, we must cite the unwavering support of Zeop, pioneering local company in the sector, subsidiary of the Océinde group which has just inaugurated the first neutral data center in Reunion Island. Host of the AI Tour de France, the president of Numeum calls for forming “the French digital team” : it was the La Réunion du Numérique team that showed up during these three days. It is also Véronique Torner who, invited to speak about her stay in Reunion, noted this unit at the close of the French Tech Connect : “With the dynamic ecosystem, what struck me the most, it's your collective game. » Proof that “where an ecosystem exists, we are more impactful together”.
