Macron wants ‘commando spirit’ in €30bn ‘France First’ plan for home-grown industry

EMMANUEL MACRON yesterday unveiled a €30billion (£25billion) “France First” plan to champion homegrown industry as he laid out his blueprint for economic patriotism six months before presidential elections.

At the heart of the “France 2030” project are the mass production of green hydrogen and electricity for clean cars and small modular reactors that recycle waste better.

The aim is to invest in industry and innovation across a wide range of areas over the next five years and ensure “the winner takes it all”, Mr Macron said.

The protectionist tone of his hourand-a-half-long speech at the Elysée Palace comes as the campaign for next April’s presidential election is heating up, with rivals such as Eric Zemmour, the far-right maverick, warning that France is in a state of perilous decline.

Pointing to a shortage of face masks when the Covid pandemic first broke, Mr Macron said the crisis had shown the “vulnerability” of France and Europe and the importance of homegrown production in strategic areas.

He said that France had reclaimed the mantle of “most attractive country in Europe with employment levels not seen in 20 years”. However, he also conceded that Paris had taken key decisions “15-20 years later than some of our European neighbours” and now needed “to become again a nation of innovation and research”.

A “commando spirit” would be required to regain this status, which he said was vital to create enough growth to fund France’s costly “social model”.

“We need a country that produces more,” he said. “We must wage the battle of innovation and industrialisation at the same time.”

Under the plan, France would get two electrolysis gigafactories for hydrogen production as part of an €8billion investment to “decarbonise” the energy sector, with €1billion spent on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRS) with improved nuclear waste management.

A further €4billion would be spent on transport, including a low-carbon aircraft for 2030 and the production of two million electric cars. A further €2billion would be spent on sustainable agriculture and €3 billion on producing “at least 20” biotech drugs against cancers and other ailments. Also singled out was space and deep-sea exploration to boost France’s standing as the world’s “second marine power”.

Close to €6billion was earmarked for France’s electronics sector with the aim of doubling production to “secure” the country’s supply needs for microchips, while €5billion would be spent on start-ups.

The plan was very much France-focused, but Mr Macron added: “We must rebuild the framework for productive independence for France and Europe” to counter global powers such as the US and China.

“The winner takes it all,” he said. The plan was swiftly criticised by the opposition, with rivals saying it was electoral campaigning.

“It’s ‘whatever the cost, I want to be re-elected!’” Marine Le Pen, the farright leader, said on Twitter.

Green MP Matthieu Orphelin said the plan outlined a blueprint for “an out-ofdate model that harks back to the 1970s”.

The €30billion plan comes on the back of a €100billion Covid recovery plan, a large share of which went to promoting greener energy policies.

Economists said the new plan would be meaningful only if private investors jumped in to multiply spending. It is currently dwarfed by US President Joe Biden’s push for a $4.5tn Build Back Better agenda that covers similar areas.

‘We must produce more and wage battle of innovation and industrialisation at the same time’