France spends $7.3bn on massive future investment plan

Paris, Oct 20 (IANS) France has invested 7.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) on major projects since the country unveiled the 'France 2030' investment roadmap last year to support ecological and economic transitions.

In a statement on Wednesday, the government said that it has scaled up financial support for 810 projects in the past year, including building a semiconductor factory, developing hydrogen technologies and manufacturing a quantum computer, reports Xinhua news agency.

The country also set up several investment funds to support the growth of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fields of ecological and energy transition.

Some 45 per cent of SMEs are among the beneficiaries against 7 per cent of large enterprises, said the government.

Announced by President Emmanuel Macron in October last year, the France 2030 plans to pour 54 billion euros over the next 10 years to support the country's innovation and industrialisation, and maintain its industrial capacities for strategic priorities.