Emmanuel Macron brought together, Thursday, at the Elysée, the actors of French industry, on the occasion of the event “Accelerating our reindustrialization”. YOAN VALAT/AFP
The green industry bill will shorten the time limits for authorizations to set up factories.
The reindustrialization of France is more than ever a priority for Emmanuel Macron. The President of the Republic presented Thursday the main lines of the project of green industry law on which they have been working since January Bruno the MayorMinister of the Economy, and Roland Lescure, in charge of Industry, and which will be presented next Tuesday to the Council of Ministers. His goal: “Accelerate the establishment of new factories.” A number of measures have been taken in recent years, which have made it possible to reverse the process of closing industrial sites, as shown by the net gain of 300 openings since 2017. However, this movement must be consolidated and accelerated.
One of the main proposals presented to the Élysée relates to the acceleration of authorizations. “It’s all about rhythm, explains Emmanuel Macron. We can offer billions to manufacturers, if it takes two or three years to deploy them, it is too late. In theory, it takes nine months to obtain all the authorizations; in practice, the delays accumulate. “Today, you have to wait seventeen to eighteen months on average”, regrets the President of the Republic. In Germany, the period is limited to eight months. The list of procedures before obtaining the holy grail of an authorization is based on a Prévert-style inventory: a building permit, environmental studies galore (impact study, characterization of wetlands, fauna/flora inventory, nuisances noise, hydraulic study, soil pollution, etc.) and, finally, a public inquiry.
Electric car bonus
To make matters worse, these different phases are carried out not simultaneously, but one after the other. “To shorten, we must change this organization so that the procedures are carried out in parallel”, hammers the president. And to specify that“it is not a question of removing certain phases, by degrading the requirement in terms of the environment”. No simplification, then. “We must be able to guarantee a maximum period of nine months, which represents a halving of the current period”, ures Emmanuel Macron. Enough to allow France to become one of the best in cl in Europe in this area. “For major projects of national interest, an exceptional procedure could be put in place in order to go even faster”, promises the one who likes to present himself as the “master of the clocks”, even if many criticize him for his propensity for procrastination…
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To accelerate, the president continues to tackle another French evil: the difficulty in finding land where to set up a factory. The executive will extend the principle of “turnkey” sites, which can receive industrial or logistical activities and for which the procedures relating to town planning and the environment have been anticipated. One billion euros will be invested, via the Banque des Territoires, in order to have 50 sites that can accommodate by 2027. And this without calling into question the objective of reducing the artificialization of the soil. “There are 90,000 to 150,000 hectares of industrial wasteland, while we need 20,000 to 30,000 for new settlements”underlines Emmanuel Macron.
The president does not forget the financial aspect. Aid, in the form of a tax credit, may be granted to companies. They could represent 25% to 40% of the investment. An environmental quality label will be created. It could be used in the purchases of public authorities, but not only. The first realization will relate to the bonus on the purchase of an electric vehiclewhich will now be granted “by taking better account of the vehicle’s carbon footprint”, according to Emmanuel Macron. The President clarified that it was “support batteries and electric vehicles produced in Europe”. A real revolution.
