French president unveils €30B futuristic green investment plan

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) – France will invest billions of dollars in future innovative and green technologies in sectors such as nuclear power, automobile and biomedicine to revive the economy, the nation's president announced on Tuesday.

Emmanuel Macron unveiled the "France2030" investment plan at the Elysee Palace alongside Prime Minister Jean Castex, parliamentarians, students, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

He said the objective of the plan was to respond to the major challenges of climate and demographic changes, the health crisis and to avert the decline of the country's economy.

"France will once again become a great nation which chooses its destiny and which brings its contribution to the world to live better in the face of these challenges," he said.

The investments include €8 billion ($9.2 billion) in the nuclear energy sector, €7.5 billion in the health sector to develop at least 20 biomedicines against emerging diseases, €6 billion for electronic components to address shortage of semiconductors, and €2 billion in agriculture.

Macron said one of the primary strategies was to reinvent the nuclear sector and enable the country to become a "green hydrogen leader." France is heavily dependent on nuclear energy for electricity production and responsible for low renewable energy goals in Europe.

Majority of the funds will be used to decarbonize the nuclear industry, develop at least two giga-factories of electrolysers and small-scale nuclear reactors with better waste management, he said.

Macron added green innovation will also be the thrust in France's automobile industry and by 2030, nearly 2 million electric and hybrid vehicles will be produced in the country.

In the agriculture sector, the focus will be on digital, robotics and genetics innovations to improve productivity and build an "agriculture that is compatible with environmental requirements."

A total of €2.5 billion will be earmarked for "training talent" in new and cutting-edge sectors over the next decade.