The national economic stimulus plan is designed to boost public policies implemented by government ministries and operators to support and develop business growth during this period of crisis. Some organizations, such as ADEME and the Agence Nationale de la Cohésion du Territoire (ANCT) for example, are using these investments to meet the 3 major priorities set by the French government: competitiveness, ecology and territorial cohesion.
For its operational implementation, the executive has appointed Prefects and Sub-Prefects to the Recovery Plan, who are responsible for disseminating this policy at local level, whether regional (Prefects) or departmental (Sub-Prefects).
How are budgets deployed?
Financing is provided in two ways:
Firstly, through calls for projects. Each of these is supported by an operator. Funding is provided either through national applications, or via regional or departmental initiatives. Most of the calls for projects are listed on the France Relance website:
The second type of financing is organized through dedicated windows. These provide for a range of s actions to which any company can apply if it meets the criteria… For example, ADEME will be able to validate applications from companies aiming to participate in the ecological transformation of SMEs.
Who benefits from the funding?
The Stimulus Plan and the budget allocated to it are being deployed in two directions. Firstly, local authorities. The idea is to increase the volume of public orders so that they can pursue their digital transformation, notably via the ANCT. 88 million euros are earmarked for this transformation.
The second main beneficiaries of the Recovery Plan are businesses and the voluntary sector. For the latter, there are two types of funding.
First and foremost are the industrial funds, which are either earmarked for specific sectors (energy, transport, etc.), or for all companies meeting investment project criteria (to be understood in the broadest sense). One of the existing windows, for example, is the Industry of the Future window.
Finally, the second funding pool likely to be of interest to Tech companies is that of ADEME. It focuses on decarbonation and circular industry projects. The latter can be contacted via the Tremplin window for the ecological transformation of SMEs:
For further information, companies can contact the sub-prefects responsible for the Recovery Plan in the departments where they have their head office or operations. They are the first point of contact for companies, and are responsible for supporting and informing them about the terms and conditions of these grants.
It should also be noted that there are other recovery plans, which are managed by the regions (Ile-de-France, Grand Est…). They should not be confused with the national recovery plan explained above, which is supported by the executive branch through the sub-prefects for the recovery plan.