French President Macron wants to invest 30 billion euros in projects to "re-industrialize" France with modern technology. This is meant to make France once again a major nation of innovation, focusing on the technology of the future.
Macron announced that 2 billion euros of this money will be invested in French agriculture over the next five years. The funds are intended for innovations in digital technology, agrobotics, and genetics to finance what he called the "third revolution" in agriculture.
According to the president, France should become the leading "high-tech nation of Europe" and be able to compete with China and the US. Macron addressed some two hundred entrepreneurs and students at the Élysée Palace. Presidential elections will take place in France in April, shortly followed by parliamentary elections.
With the additional funds, "the champions of the future" will be financed over five years. Macron openly considers more efficient use of nuclear energy and the transition to sustainable energy. According to Macron, his country can already have a leading position in the use of green energy by 2030, partly thanks to nuclear energy.
His speech controversially included a renewed commitment to nuclear energy as Europe faces an energy crisis. Macron said that France will invest €1 billion in nuclear energy by the end of this decade—about five years earlier than previous estimates. "The main goal is to have innovative small-scale nuclear reactors in France by 2030, together with better nuclear waste management," he said.
His plan is to expand a number of so-called Small Modular Reactors to meet the rising demand for energy.
Digital technology, robotics, and genetics are the three agricultural innovations Emmanuel Macron wants to support for "healthy, sustainable, and traceable" food. He believes this "third revolution" is a continuation of the "Mechanical and chemical revolution" that the agricultural world has already experienced.
"Biodiversity has become a rare asset. It requires investments and groundbreaking technologies, in agricultural robotics to sometimes eliminate certain pesticides," Macron pleaded, while also calling for "bio-solutions" and "carbon capture."