Emmanuel Macron visits the Paris Motor Show 2024

Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the 90th Paris Motor Show. The opportunity for the Head of State to return to the situation of electric vehicles.

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, was visiting the Paris Motor Show on Monday, October 14, 2024. The Head of State stopped by the stands of the many French players in the sector present in the aisles, with in order Valeo, Renault, Alpine, Citroën and finally Peugeot.

The Paris Motor Show lasts until Sunday, October 20, at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris. It opens to the public this Tuesday, October 15.

French manufacturers of license-free cars are also exhibiting their new models, such as Ligier and Aixam. These brands are gradually launching into electric vehicles.

At the opening of the Paris Motor Show, the Head of State resumed a national trip, moreover on themes that he likes: the economy, strategy and industrial sovereignty.

“There is work that must be done between the government and Parliament,” said the Head of State, in response to a question on the balance to be found between taxation and deficit reduction. “France must continue to reindustrialize, must continue to innovate and must continue to create jobs and encourage job creation, that is the country’s priority,” he continued.

A question on the development of the electric car. Emmanuel Macron claims that France is “consolidating an electric sector to reach two million vehicles by 2030. France is number 2 in Europe in the deployment of terminals. We must continue this work. And work must be done between the government and parliament. France must continue to reindustrialize, innovate, and encourage job creation. That is the country’s priority”.

The electric vehicle sector is, in his eyes, a good example of this policy aimed at reindustrializing France. “We are consolidating an electric sector that produces and will produce even more at home”, he explained, whereas when he arrived at the Elysée in 2017, there were “no electric vehicles produced in our country”.

The France 2030 plan, launched in 2021 to prepare for the post-Covid period and which provides for a total of 54 billion euros of investments, had set the objective of producing nearly 2 million electric and hybrid vehicles in France by 2030. In 2023, France produced 490,000 electric and hybrid vehicles.

“Look at what has been done over the past 7 years, I have strived to give visibility to the industry, support for investment, it produces results, he lists. I hope that the government and parliament find the right path, the financial balances and the political equation.”

France, with a National Strategy, has also mobilized on batteries, the nerve center of the electric war.

A “gigafactory” in Pas-de-Calais, Automotive CellS company (ACC), owned by Stellantis, Total and Mercedes, must equip 500,000 cars with electric batteries by 2030 and employ 2,000 people.

For the time being, 100 batteries leave the factory every day compared to the 2,000 planned. Other factories have been set up in Hauts-de-France and the Bolloré group was considering building a mega-battery factory in eastern France in May 2025.

The president’s visit ended in a hall dedicated to professionals in the automotive sector.

© IMPACT EUROPEAN

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