• €6.9 billion from the EIB and €1.6 billion from SME-focused subsidiary the EIF
  • 47% of EIB investments dedicated to climate action
  • €2 billion directed to innovation

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group was very active in France in 2019, directly or indirectly granting almost €8.5 billion in long-term financing to the private sector and local authorities. This included €6.9 billion from the EIB and €1.6 billion from SME-focused subsidiary the European Investment Fund (EIF).

For the entire institution, France was the third biggest beneficiary country of EIB financing last year behind Spain and Italy.

>@EIB

In terms of the EIB's four main investment priorities (infrastructure, innovation, environment and SMEs), France stood out for the importance of climate action loans, which accounted for 47% of volumes in 2019, but also for the large share of financing directed to innovation (€2 billion or 28%).

Lastly, the EIB Group granted a total of €2.5 billion in Juncker Plan loans. Since its launch in 2015, France has granted a total of €13.5 billion in financing guaranteed by the Juncker Plan, making it the biggest EU beneficiary country by volume.

The climate bank: already a reality in France

Over 47% of the EIB's loan volumes (i.e. €3.28 billion) went to combating climate change. In this sector, France is well above the average among other EU countries (the EIB dedicated 31% of its loans to the climate across the EU), meaning that it is already close to the goals set by the EIB for 2025. At its Board meeting in November 2019, the EU bank's shareholders decided to increase the share of climate action in its operations from 25% to 50% within five years. 

Major climate projects financed in 2019:

  • A €130 million loan to European industrial recycling leader Derichebourg for modernising its sorting centres and research and development
  • €30 million in financing for the Grenoble metropolitan area for projects including the renewal of its heating network
  • A €40 million loan to AREC Occitanie. The EIB has therefore become the preferred partner of third-party financing companies, bodies created by the French Regions to provide households with loans to perform energy efficiency renovations of their homes
  • A €20 million loan to Voltalis, a start-up developing a box for private homes enabling household consumption to be managed, thereby promoting day-to-day energy savings

Increased support for all innovations 

The EIB continued to support innovation in France by dedicating almost €2 billion of its long-term funding to this sector, with a view to developing forward-looking investment and creating the European champions of tomorrow. The European Investment Fund (EIF) added €1.6 billion to this funding, targeting objectives including indirect support for growing SMEs via guarantees or credit envelopes provided to banking and financial intermediaries, which then grant loans to the final beneficiaries.

Major innovation projects financed in 2019:

  • A €40 million loan to agribusiness group Sill for research and development to support its food product innovation
  • Medtech was once again in the spotlight, with a €22.5 million loan to Mauna Kea and €20 million for Advicenne to support their research
  • A €25 million loan to Prophesee, which is developing a revolutionary image capture system for self-driving cars, health and Industry 4.0
  • €100 million in financing for the Fnac Darty group to help it develop a digital distribution platform to compete with those of its rivals

Lastly, the EIF was involved in a number of very innovative projects, particularly in the social sector, such as the €30 million guarantee granted to SOGAMA to enable it to itself guarantee bank micro-loans of less than €500 000 for social sector companies; and in agriculture, with the launch, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, of the INAF (French National Agriculture Initiative) fund to guarantee up to €1 billion in bank loans to young farmers.

“The European Investment Bank's results for France in 2020 are excellent in several ways. They not only remind us that France is among the countries where the EU bank is most active, but also stand out for the large share of investments in the key sectors of climate action and innovation,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “We will keep this up in the coming years to make France a leader in financing the environmental transition.”