Transportation accounts for 30% of national greenhouse gas emissions, with two-thirds coming from private vehicles. The strategy defined by the Environmental Planning Council and confirmed by Macron is threefold: Transitioning cars to electric, encouraging French citizens to prioritize public transportation through metropolitan commuter trains (RER), and promoting frugality. It also relies on technological advancements, particularly in decarbonizing aviation.

To make electric cars attractive to the French people and advocate for an "accessible and fair" ecology, Macron is relying on a long-term leasing program for low-income households, subsidized by the state. This will reduce the monthly cost of a new vehicle to 100 euros.

The details of this program will be disclosed in November. At that time, customers will be able to log in to a platform and reserve a vehicle that will be delivered to them in 2024. According to the French president, "several tens of thousands of electric cars" will be financed next year, which is a more ambitious goal than initially anticipated.

However, the Head of State did not specify the income criteria for eligibility or the eligible models. However, these vehicles must be produced in France or any other European country, just like those that will qualify for the new ecological bonus. The president aims to use ecology as a lever to strengthen sovereignty. Therefore, he wants France to produce 1 million electric cars per year by 2027 and become a battery exporter. His team stated: "We are aligning the leasing timeline with production capacity in Europe and France," to explain why the measure announced during the 2022 election campaign is not yet ready.

The timeline allows Citroën to launch its ë-C3, produced in Slovenia, and Renault to introduce its R5, manufactured in Douai (in the Nord region of France). The Dacia Spring, which comes from China, will not be included in the program. The Elysée specified that a household that travels 1,000 kilometers per month – which is common for commuting – would pay 20 euros to charge their car at home versus a monthly gas bill of 200 euros.

The shift of individuals and businesses to electric vehicles is expected to account for 30% of the reductions targeted by 2030. The transition to trains and public transportation, on the other hand, should cover 15% of the path. To achieve this, a budget of 700 million euros will be allocated starting in 2024 so that regions can fund the establishment of metropolitan express services in 13 cities. This is three more cities than the ten cities originally announced.

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