On Tuesday, 12 October, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed a 30 billion euro investment roadmap that will aim at decarbonising France's economy, expand research and innovation in key technological areas like biomedicine and semi-conductors, and make the country a leader in green hydrogen, according to reports published by Reuters and The Guardian.
The France 2030 investment plan will also build low-carbon planes, small nuclear reactors, and two megafactories for green hydrogen production in order to fulfil the above mentioned objectives.
Insisting that France must produce more and become a "start-up nation", Macron addressed a gathering of students and entrepreneurs at the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
“We must wage the battle of innovation and industrialisation at the same time”, added The Guardian.
Criticism for Macron's plans came from both the opposition and environmental activists.
Greenpeace France director Jean-François Julliard said that Macron's "false solutions follow the same logic: constantly postpone the real (energy) transition and continue to produce as if the planet's resources were unlimited", Reuters reported.
Macron's biggest challenger for the 2022 elections, Marine Le Pen, tweeted that "a few months from the end of his mandate", Macron was committing "French money to restore his electoral image."
The 2022 French presidential election will be held on 10 April 2022.
(With inputs from The Guardian and Reuters.)
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