On Thursday 21 April, the European Commission authorised a €7 billion French investment aid scheme to promote a sustainable recovery.
The support was authorised under the State aid Temporary Framework in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The aid will take one of the following forms: - direct grants; - subsidised loans; - subsidised guarantees; - repayable advances.
The amount of individual aid will not exceed €70 million per beneficiary. The public support will be used to finance sustainable investments in tangible and intangible assets of companies in the industrial sector, particularly in the chemical industry, machinery and equipment manufacturing and in the automotive industry.
France will ensure that the investments financed are environmentally sustainable, in line with the EU taxonomy, and finance projects within the scope of the national ‘France 2030’ plan, which aims in particular to reduce the carbon intensity of industries.
The public support will be subject to conditions so as to limit any undue distortion of competition, including safeguards to limit the risk of possible indirect aid in favour of the financial intermediaries channelling the support. Up to 1,000 companies are expected to benefit from this support. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)