Image: Pixabay – Thor Deichmann / AP Editing
The French are called upon to vote on April 10 and 24 to elect their future president. Automobile Propre took a close look at the 12 candidates’ program to gauge their stance on electric driving and the decarbonisation of transport. Despite its importance, the theme is again handled without great rigor by a majority of suitors.
Electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, retrofits, agrofuels: decarbonising transport and in particular the car is a monumental part of the energy transition. Few candidates seem to master the subject. Some do not even mention it in their program, others settle for fanciful proposals or are detached from reality.
We looked at the program of the 12 contenders and, if there are any, extracted the passages that evoke the theme of decarbonisation, as well as the electrification of the car and transport. Here they are, listed alphabetically by each candidate’s name.
Nathalie Arthaud – Force Ouvriere
Without a budgeted program, Nathalie Arthaud never mentions the electrification of transport in her campaign arguments.
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan – Arise France
The candidate promises: “replacing the 10 million most energy-intensive vehicles in 10 years with a new bonus-malus that favors electric and low-emission vehicles”† Without further specifying, he wishes “speed up the installation of fast charging stations for electric cars”† Finally, he promises: “accelerate the implementation of real-world pollution control tests”.
Anne Hidalgo – Socialist Party
The current mayor of Paris wants to create “a system of social leasing” in collaboration with car manufacturers and rental companies, to create electric vehicles “accessible to private individuals for a monthly cost that is lower than the cost of a gas-powered vehicle”.
It also plans to make a “zero interest loan for sustainable mobility” help out “to the purchase of electric vehicles and retrofit”. As for the charging infrastructure, Anne Hidalgo seems to be a bit confused when she announces that“one million additional electrical terminals will be deployed across the country, with priority for rural areas, in a national plan, built with local authorities, for electrical and hydrogen-based infrastructure.”
Yannick Jadot – Europe Ecology The Greens
If the ecologist is one of the candidates most clamoring for the decarbonisation of transportation, his treatment of the subject sometimes lacks precision. This is how he promises to double “Conversion aid to support low-income households in replacing their vehicle with an electric car. †† “1 million vehicles will benefit from a transformation from thermal motors to electric motors (retrofit) to be converted into more efficient and less polluting vehicles. This system can relate to private vehicles, but also to professional and municipal fleets. † he completes.
Yannick Jadot wants to accelerate “the conversion and establishment in France of the entire value chain for the production of electric vehicles”. “We will work with regional councils and players in the automotive services sector to develop training and retraining plans for mechanics, groups and the self-employed to support the development of professions related to the deployment of electric vehicles. † he announces.
Highly focused on the conversion of thermal vehicles, the environmental candidate wants to set up “a system of advance payments for mechanics to enable them to obtain the necessary approvals for the modification, to increase the number of players in this market”.
In addition, Yannick Jadot promises to: “end the marketing of individual vehicles with combustion engines, in particular petrol and diesel, by 2030”† “The transition is accompanied by a plan to relocate electric vehicle production, support for low-income households and the installation of charging stations across the territory.” he writes, without however quantifying his proposal.
Jean Lassalle – Resist
Jean Lassalle’s program makes no mention of the electrification of transport.
Marine Le Pen – National Rally
The far-right candidate is content with a few haphazard lines on the subject. she announces “thanks to nuclear energy”to strengthen “the current electricity distribution network to meet the needs of electric vehicles, while achieving savings in three years’ time compared to an unnecessary adaptation to renewable energy sources”† Marine Le Pen also promises a “loan of €1000 to equip a car or commercial vehicle with an ethanol conversion unit”.
Emmanuel Macron – The Republic on the March
In line with the announcements made during his tenure, the candidate wishes for his own succession “Keep investing to become a leader in green hydrogen, produce millions of electric and hybrid vehicles and create the first low-carbon aircraft”. Emmanuel Macron also promises to release “an affordable range of electric cars for everyone thanks to a 100% French sector”.
With regard to the charging infrastructure, he ensures that: “more than half of the highway service areas are now equipped with fast charging stations for electric vehicles” and “everything will be by the end of 2022”† An extremely optimistic promise, according to ASFA, the Association of French Motorway Companies, by the end of 2021, 42% of its 364 service areas had been equipped with fast charging stations. A figure that does not take into account the 623 rest areas, which are smaller than the rest areas.
“By 2030, a sovereign electric vehicle production chain will be operational” assures the outgoing president. “Almost all vehicles produced in France will be electric and at an affordable price. To this end, innovation and production of batteries are supported directly on our territory. † he progresses. Thereby “In France, 2 million electric and hybrid vehicles are produced every year” at the same time, Emmanuel Macron promises.
Jean-Luc Melenchon – La France Insoumise
Despite a 20-page thematic booklet devoted to transport, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s program deals little with the issue of electric vehicles. For his third and final candidacy for the presidency of the republic, he only promises:“Setting up a public service of charging points for electric vehicles on public roads, to ensure a fair deployment throughout France and for all. †
In addition, the far-left candidate “developing territory-wide systems to provide fleets of low-emission vehicles for low-income households”† Supporter of alternative fuels, he announces: “Support the search for solutions to operate the existing fleet of heat engines with fuels with a low ecological impact (syngas, used cooking oil, etc.).
Valérie Pécresse – The Republicans
The candidate promises “End of sales of new thermal vehicles in 2035 and of new plug-in hybrids in 2040.” Without specifying how, it wants to develop “a second-hand market for electric vehicles”† Valérie Pécresse also plans to de “biofuels” and the “hydrogen and electrical projects for aviation and logistics”†
She tackles Emmanuel Macron and shouts “the 100,000 electric charging stations promised by the government” [qui se feraient] “always waiting” and outbid by announcing “place 200,000 electrical terminals throughout the territory with a plan to cover the territory being tested by the regions. †
The candidate also wishes “keep the conversion bonus and the ecological allowance that the current cabinet has decided to reduce prematurely by € 1,000 as of 1 July 2022.”
Valerie Pecresse will “establish a zero-rate loan for the purchase of clean vehicles for low-income households to reduce the residual burden”† She also announces “Develop the retrofit sector that allows the transformation of their vehicle by the French by promoting local employment and the circular economy. †
Philippe Poutou – New Anti-Capitalist Party
Philippe Poutou’s program does not mention the electrification of transport.
Fabien Roussel – Communist Party
Despite the development of a very detailed program, Fabien Roussel makes no statements about the electrification of transport. He only mentions “targeted support for the purchase of light, more fuel-efficient and less polluting vehicles”.
Eric Zemmour – Recapture
Without great mastery of the subject, Eric Zemmour promises to develop “credible and sustainable alternatives to hydrocarbons (such as thermal renewable energy or biofuels for transport)”† He thus wishes “Develop electricity and hydrogen in public transport that can easily benefit from a charging system (buses, shuttles, coaches)”.
Randomly, the candidate announces that he wants “decarbonising transport by combining the different promising technologies (electric batteries, fuel cells, biofuels and synthetic fuels for aviation and marine)”† Without further specifying, he promises: “promote the roll-out of charging points for electric vehicles throughout the territory”.
Candidate Scores
🟢 = Main subject of the program, full and rigorous treatment, realistic and substantiated proposals.
🟡 = Subject mentioned but incomplete treatment, mishmash of realistic and unrealistic and/or irrelevant proposals.
🔴 = Topic mentioned but very incomplete treatment, not very rigorous, unrealistic and/or irrelevant proposals.
🟤 = Topic not mentioned in the program.
|
Candidate |
Transport electrification |
|
ARTHAUD Nathalie |
|
|
DUPONT-AIGNAN Nicolas |
|
|
HIDALGO Anne |
|
|
JADOT Yannick |
|
|
LASSALLE Jean |
|
|
LE PEN Navy Blue |
|
|
MACRON Emmanuel |
|
|
MELENCHON Jean-Luc |
|
|
PECRESSE Valerie |
|
|
POUTOU Philippe |
|
|
ROUSSEL Fabien |
|
|
ZEMMOUR Eric |
|
