The plan to decarbonize the economy by 55% by 2030, presented by President Emmanuel Macron, outlines five points related to the development of electromobility in France.
The roadmap encompasses the transportation, industry, energy, and biodiversity sectors. Acording to Macron, encourages consumers, producers, and the public sector to reduce their carbon footprint.
Regarding electric mobility, the plan includes new aspects related to electric vehicle production and access.
5 points for eMobility in the plan
The country’s highest authority announced that the emissions reduction plan contains five main points referring to the eMobility.
I. The government aims to produce one million electric vehicles in France by 2027.
In this regard, France is looking to attract investments from automakers through tax incentives.
Various companies are relocating their factories to the country to take advantage of these benefits and avoid missing out on the opportunity.
II. Have four open battery factories.
Among them are the locations of Dunkirk and Douai.
In addition to producing components for its own electric car manufacturing, France aspires to become an exporter of these parts.
III. Social Leasing.
The announced mechanism was revealed months ago, and according to Macron, there will be updates in the coming month.
“Starting from November, we will be able to unveil this €100 leasing plan for the initial electric vehicle models”, the president announces.
“We are pioneers in implementing innovative measures such as social leasing for electric cars,”he adds.
Furthermore, he emphasizes that the program will come into effect in 2024, and initially, only a limited number of models will be available.
The government explains that the plan aims to provide access to electric mobility for middle and lower-income sectors while also supporting European-produced vehicles.
IV. Heavy vehicles.
Until now, the Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME) had the support of financing projects that involve the incorporation of heavy EVs into fleets.
Starting with the new Financing Law for next year, these budgets will be extended both for the acquisition of units and for their charging infrastructure.
V. Charging infrastructure.
In next year’s forecast, the incorporation of an additional 200 million euros is planned to accompany the installation of charging points.
The country has exceeded its goal of 100,000 available points in May 2023, although the authorities indicate that it is necessary to reinforce this network to supply the growth of the zero-emission vehicle fleet.
According to the Ministries of Ecological Transition and Energy Transition, the amount to be invested in these points is approximately 1.5 billion euros.
In addition to the announced steps, the governing confirms previously presented measures.
These include the update of the ecological bonus in 2024 and the mechanism for its allocation, which will depend on environmental criteria applied from production to the marketing of EVs.
This will be done using a scoring system, and the selected models will be revealed in mid-December.
The charging infrastructure, as per the 2024 financing bill, is also expected to see an increase in its budget.
Energy for transition: nuclear energy
The implementation of electromobility only makes sense to the extent that clean energy can be integrated into the French energy mix.
In this regard, the government aims to reduce the share of fossil energy from 60% to 40% by 2030. Specifically in electricity production, the country aims to phase out coal by 2027.
This transition, in addition to conventional renewable energies, seeks to promote nuclear energy.
As a result, an additional 1.5 billion euros (a 10% increase) will be allocated to support the continuation of the French nuclear energy program.
However, there is a geopolitical factor that raises uncertainty: the “breakup” with Niger.
Recently, the French president declared that “France-Africa is over“, referring to the end of the traditional relationship between France and the continent to the south.
This marks the conclusion of France’s geopolitical influence in the region, stemming from the withdrawal of its military presence in Niger.
Niger is crucial for French nuclear energy because 70% of the uranium produced there is destined for French nuclear plants.
Niger is the seventh-largest uranium producer in the world, with the fourth-largest reserves. The French company Orano, with the participation of the French government, operates the main uranium mine and majority-owns two other currently inactive mines.
However, Niger is not the sole producer of this essential element for nuclear energy production.
Kazakhstan, for example, is also a significant player in this field.
While Niger is an important supplier for the European Union, it may not be the only option for accessing this resource, although the political conditions in the country do have implications for both geopolitics and energy policy.
