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France’s recovery and resilience plan

RRF FUNDED PROJECTS IN FRANCE

WHAT’S IN THE PLAN?

Country snapshot

Country snapshots

France’s country snapshot

The country snapshot illustrates some of the most iconic and impactful projects included in the French Recovery and Resilience Plan that will bring positive change for EU citizens, businesses and the EU at large.

The reforms and investments in France’s plan are helping it become more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities offered by the green and digital transitions. Following Council approval of France’s plan on 13 July 2021, France’s recovery and resilience plan was updated on 14 July 2023 also to introduce reforms and investments that address REPowerEU objectives.

€40.3 bn*
Value of the plan
€40.3 bn**
RRF Grants
€0m
RRF loans

*The plan is entirely financed by RRF grants
** This value includes the transfer from the Brexit adjustment reserve requested by France and France’s REPowerEU grant.

  • 73 investment streams and 24 reforms
  • 49.5% of the plan will support climate objectives 
  • 21.6% of the plan will foster the digital transition.    

 

The transformative impact of France’s plan is the result of a strong combination of reforms and investment which address the country’s specific challenges. The reforms address bottlenecks to lasting and sustainable growth while investments are targeted to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, to support the digital transformation of all economic actors including public authorities, and to make the French economy more resilient thanks to investments in the health sector and skills, from higher education and lifelong learning.

All measures have to be implemented within a tight time frame, as the Regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility requires all milestones and targets within the national plans to be completed by August 2026.

REPowerEU measures in France’s plan

France’s plan now includes three reforms and four investments to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, in line with one of the REPowerEU Plan's objectives.

To finance this increased ambition, France has asked for a share of its Brexit Adjustment Reserve to be transferred to the plan, amounting to €504 million. These funds would be added to France's REPowerEU grant of €2.3 billion.

Key measures for REPowerEU

The REPowerEU measures include a reform which will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects through streamlined permitting procedures, reduce France’s energy consumption with the “energy efficiency plan” and increase the coherence and coordination of public policies in the field of ecological transition with the creation of the General Secretariat for ecological planning.

The investments fully contribute to reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, by increasing energy efficiency in buildings with greater emphasis on deep renovation, and by supporting hydrogen projects and decarbonising the industrial sector.

Green transition

In the area of climate and environmental policies, France needs to accelerate its ecological transition in order to meet its 2030 targets, in particular in view of the increased ambition of the “Fit for 55” package. The transport and buildings sectors are the bigger emitters of greenhouse gas emissions and massive investments are necessary in the thermal renovation of building and in the transport sector in order to green the vehicle fleet and to support the modal shift towards rail transport.

Key measures for the green transition

  • France’s overall plan puts a strong focus on the green transition, as circa €20 billion will be dedicated to green investments, including:
    • in building renovation (€7.7 billion)
    • sustainable transport (€4.4 billion in the modernisation of railway network),
    • the decarbonisation of industrial processes (€0.6 billion).
  • It also features significant investments in R&D and innovation in the field of green technologies such as hydrogen (€1.7 billion to low carbon and renewable hydrogen).
  • The “Climate and Resilience Law” is an overarching reform that will tackle the ways of consuming, producing & working, moving, living and therefore contribute to the current 40% national target in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The modified plan, including the REPowerEU chapter, has further strengthened the focus on the plan on the green transition, devoting 49.5% of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives (up from 46% in the original plan).

Digital transition

France ranked 15th in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) in 2021. Challenges remain in the areas of connectivity and coverage of fast broadband networks, and in the appropriation of digital technologies by the private sector (especially SMEs). France is still far behind the front runners in terms of digital skills.

Key measures for the digital transition

  • €8.7 billion, or 21.6% of the French plan, will be devoted to the digital transition.
  • France will invest €1.8 billion in developing and deploying key digital technologies, such as cybersecurity, quantum and cloud.
  • Other key investments concern:
    • the support to businesses by helping them make the most of digital technologies (€385 million),
    • the digitalisation of primary and secondary schools through digital equipment (€131 million),
    • the further digitalization of public services.
  • €240 million will be invested in high speed broadband across the territory aiming to provide access to very high speed networks for all households (100% fibre-to-home) by 2025.

The modified plan has further strengthened the focus on the plan on the digital transition, devoting 21.6% of the available funds to measures that support digital objectives (up from 21% in the original plan).

Digital inclusion – digital advisers

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is financing 100% (i.e. EUR 250 million) of the effort to train and hire 4,000 additional digital advisers for the general public.

Project locations
France

Economic and social resilience

Key challenges for France include inefficiencies in the research and innovation ecosystem, inequalities in educational outcomes, high unemployment including for youth, and skills mismatches, that weigh on competitiveness and productivity growth. The pandemic has highlighted inefficiencies and strong regional disparities in the French health system and the level of public debt remains very high.

Key measures in reinforcing economic and social resilience

  • The plan reinforces economic and social resilience with measures to foster jobs and training for young people (€ 4.6 billion) and a more inclusive education system.
  • The plan will support apprenticeships, hiring subsidies, or places in boarding schools, and reinforce the resources of the public employment services.
  • Improving the governance of hospitals, investing in e-health and renovating medical centres and residential care homes for elderly people will improve access to a higher quality care (€2.5 billion).
  • The reform of the governance of public finances is expected to improve the quality and efficiency of public spending, allowing to prioritise growth and environmental friendly expenditure.

Hiring subsidies for youth under 26

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is financing 84% of the hiring subsidies for young people below 26 (i.e. EUR 803 million).

Project locations
France

ANNUAL EVENTS

Participants included the European Commission, the General Secretariat in charge of European Affairs, representatives of the French administration and a broad range of stakeholders, including social partners, NGOs, and academics.

More information about the event can be found here

EUROPEAN SEMESTER

France’s plan is consistent with the challenges and priorities identified in the European Semester, the annual cycle of coordination and monitoring of each EU country’s economic policies. For a detailed explanation of the European Semester see the following link: The European Semester explained | European Commission (europa.eu)

DOCUMENTS