The tone hardened. Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic, followed in the footsteps of Carlos Tavares, the director of Stellantis, incisive and severe against China, at the Motor Show last week in Paris. “The Europeans are still too naive, we must have a ‘Buy European act’ (like the Buy American Act, protectionist legislation that allows certain markets to be directed towards national companies), insisted the Head of State in his televised intervention this Wednesday evening. Today, we have the United States and China which protect their industries and Europe which is open to the four winds”. Strong words, while Joe Biden, the American president, has indeed just linked public aid to electric vehicles produced in the United States or in a country under a trade agreement.
Set up a sovereign sector from manufacturing to recycling
The establishment of a complete, circular – from manufacturing to recycling – and sovereign sector was then hammered home, while France announced this week the opening of its first lithium mine, an essential raw material in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. “In France, we don’t have oil, but we have lithium”, welcomed Emmanuel Macron.
But if the objective is to accelerate, and to accelerate frankly, on the electric vehicle and its market shares in the sales of new vehicles to individuals – they are today at 13% – the pitfall would be to systematically sanction “thermal vehicles”, noted the President of the Republic. In the low emission zones (ZFE), which ten cities have set up since September 1 to ban the circulation of the most polluting vehicles there – and while 45 cities and towns will be affected by a ZFE in 2025 – Emmanuel Macron has underlined that clean thermal vehicles will have their place.
No very clear solution for low-income households who own a polluting car
“In low-emission zones, it is virtuous for the economy to switch from an old polluting vehicle to a thermal vehicle that does not pollute”, he explained, before emphasizing the benefit in terms of air quality. “ZFEs are not just about the greenhouse effect and the climate, they are also about the health of our compatriots,” he added. But what about those who, already excluded from city centers because of real estate prices, will soon no longer be able to get there because of their old polluting cars?
The Head of State, without further details, spoke of “bicycle solutions, perhaps vehicle loans”, arguing that we should not “leave anyone stigmatized and without solutions”. Easier said than done, however, when the two authors of a parliamentary report on the subject have just warned against the risk of “social unrest”.