Inspired by the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris to reindustrialize France. This is what the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, suggests to accelerate the completion of 150 “industrial cathedrals”. The metaphor is deliberately chosen, used by the head of state who was, on Wednesday, April 22, in the Allier department where the traditional Council of Ministers had been relocated. A meeting held in Montlucon with, following that, the inauguration of the lithium mine of the company Imerys in Eschevieres, a vast project located on one of the world’s main lithium ore deposits, expected to produce around 34,000 tons per year of lithium hydroxide from 2030. The goal is to equip, each year, no less than 700,000 electric cars.
The concept of sovereignty emerges behind this initiative to reduce our highly strategic energy dependence. Named “Emili”, the program developed by Imeris in Allier is among the 150 major strategic projects that benefit from the full attention of the state and local authorities in the name of the country’s industrialization. Mostly carried by SMEs and midsize businesses, these 150 projects are spread across 63 departments and require just over 70 billion euros in cumulative investments.
Adapt industrialization to local specificities
Accelerate the industry with the Notre-Dame method
The spectrum is very wide. The projects supported by the public power range from agri-food to defense, through health, aeronautics, and of course, electric batteries. When the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, talks about the “Notre Dame method”, it is to evoke the necessary acceleration of these projects. The reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris after its devastating fire should serve as an example and a model. The head of state recalls and emphasizes the method: an identified project, a clear chain of command, people to whom one is accountable, and tight deadlines that must be met.
This for the image and the symbol. In practice, the government plans to move quickly to build the 150 industrial cathedrals in question thanks to the simplification law adopted in mid-April in Parliament, all accompanied by turnkey mechanisms to quickly identify and provide the appropriate financing solutions to SMEs in the regions concerned.
