10/12/2021 (Agence Europe) – French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said, on Friday 10 December, that France would invest €8 billion in four major Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs). To be on a par with China and the United States in terms of disruptive technologies, France must finance new industrial projects for which it will invest €8 billion, he said when presenting the economic and financial priorities of the French Presidency of the EU Council. This envelope will be broken down as follows: - €1.5 billion on electric batteries (see EUROPE 12547/10; - €1.7 billion on semiconductors (see EUROPE 12765/11); - €3 billion on hydrogen; - €1.5 billion on health and biotherapies; - €300 million on cloud computing. He stressed the importance of completing the Banking Union in the euro area and boosting the Capital Markets Union. (MB)