Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Unveils France's Strategic Electrification Plan

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu unveiled a sweeping electrification plan on Friday, April 10, 2026, aiming to cut France's dependence on fossil fuels from 60% of total energy consumption today to 40% by 2030 and 29% by 2035. The plan, presented from the steps of the Matignon government headquarters, was framed explicitly as a response to the energy crisis triggered by the war in the Middle East, which began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent hydrocarbon prices soaring, exposing what Lecornu described as France's structural vulnerability to imported fossil fuels. The Prime Minister argued that France holds a strategic asset in its domestically produced electricity, largely from nuclear and renewable sources, and that accelerating electrification across transport, buildings, and industry is both an economic and national security imperative. „The war in the Middle East is not ours, and yet, it affects us very directly. Fortunately, France has an asset, electricity produced on its soil.” — Sébastien Lecornu via France 24

State support doubles, but no new money promised The centrepiece of the financial package is a doubling of annual state support for electrification, rising from 5.5 billion to 10 billion euros per year by 2030. Lecornu was explicit, however, that this increase would not come from new public spending, given the government's objective of containing the public deficit at 5% of GDP. Funding will instead be drawn from redirected existing public aid, reductions in the state's own energy expenditure, and contributions from energy suppliers through the energy savings certificates mechanism. The Climate Action Network and the Negawatt think tank both welcomed the direction of the plan while calling for additional financing and criticising the absence of energy sobriety measures. The French Electricity Union and the Federation of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Industries also urged a more ambitious budgetary vision. 10 (billion euros per year) — target annual state support for electrification by 2030

France electrification support: Annual state support for electrification (before: 5.5 billion euros, after: 10 billion euros by 2030); Fossil fuel share of total energy consumption (before: 60% today, after: 40% by 2030, 29% by 2035); Heat pumps in operation (before: 4 million, after: 8.8 million target by 2030)

Gas boiler ban and heat pump leasing target modest households Starting at the end of 2026, the installation of gas boilers in new constructions — including collective housing — will be prohibited, with Lecornu declaring his intention to make electric heating "the norm" in housing. The government set an objective that two million social housing units, of which 55% were heated with gas as of 2023, will transition away from gas by 2050. To accelerate the shift, the plan introduces a leasing-style scheme for heat pumps, targeting the most modest households whose remaining costs after existing aid — averaging 3,000 euros according to the Finance Ministry — remain prohibitive. Maud Bregeon, Minister Delegate for Energy and government spokesperson, specified that the additional aid could reach up to 2,000 euros per household, designed to guarantee amortisation of the heat pump within three years, at an estimated total additional cost of 200 million euros by 2030. France currently has 4 million heat pumps in operation, and the government aims to more than double that figure to 8.8 million by 2030. „The increase in aid could go up to 2,000 euros to guarantee the amortization of the heat pump in three years, for an estimated cost of an additional 200 million euros by 2030.” — Maud Bregeon via Le Parisien

Construction sector warns plan ignores insulation and jobs crisis The building industry responded to the announcements with qualified criticism, welcoming the decarbonisation direction while raising concerns about timing and scope. Jean-Christophe Repon, president of CAPEB, called the gas boiler ban announcement "inappropriate in relation to the crisis we are experiencing in construction," citing rising material prices and the difficult daily situation facing craftsmen. Repon noted that insulation measures — specifically aid for exterior and interior wall insulation — had been removed from government support the previous year, and that the new plan contains nothing to address that gap. He acknowledged that the measures give the sector a "direction" but said they do not respond to craftsmen's anxiety or to the employment safeguarding plan the industry had requested. A ministerial advisor also criticised the communication strategy, describing the choice of a Friday evening before the weekend as "catastrophic" in terms of scheduling. The broader political context adds uncertainty: Lecornu himself acknowledged that the 2030 funding horizon remains subject to the decisions of future parliamentary majorities.

France's energy policy has long been shaped by the legacy of the 1973 oil shock, after which the government of the day launched a large-scale nuclear reactor construction programme through EDF to reduce dependence on imported hydrocarbons. The current electrification push builds on the country's Multi-annual Energy Programming roadmap, unveiled on February 13, 2026, two weeks before the outbreak of the US-Israel war against Iran. Existing household renovation aid, including the MaPrimeRénov' scheme, has channelled significant public funds toward energy efficiency in recent years, though critics argue the pace of uptake has been insufficient. The war's impact on the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of world oil and gas trade passes, has sharpened the urgency of reducing France's exposure to global hydrocarbon markets.