France Doubles Electrification Funding to €10 Billion a Year, Citing Hormuz Crisis
Published · 3 min read
Paris — France has announced it will nearly double its annual spending on electrification to €10 billion by 2030, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz puts a spotlight on Europe’s deep dependence on imported fossil fuels, a move detailed in an Enerdata report.
The move brings support up from €5.5 billion per year and covers electric vehicles, heat pumps, and industrial energy use. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu framed the decision in direct terms: “As long as we depend on oil and gas, we will continue to pay the price of other people’s wars.”
A Crisis That Changed the Calculation
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since late February 2026, following military escalation between the United States-Israel coalition and Iran. The waterway normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Daily tanker traffic through the strait fell from roughly 140 vessels to fewer than 15. The International Energy Agency has called it “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
European natural gas prices surged around 60 percent in the immediate aftermath. Brent crude oil climbed toward $110 per barrel at its peak, squeezing households, businesses, and factories.
Rejecting the 2022 Playbook
France’s response this time is deliberately different from its approach after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the government spent tens of billions of euros on broad fuel subsidies, which analysts say added to the deficit without solving the underlying problem.
Lecornu said the government would not repeat what he called measures that are “too generous, too costly” and that create “windfall effects” without fixing structural weaknesses.
Instead, the plan redirects money into permanent infrastructure and targeted grants, with a goal of cutting France’s fossil fuel dependence from 60 percent to 40 percent by 2030, and further to 29 percent by 2035.
EDF Puts €240 Million on the Table
State-owned energy company Électricité de France is backing the push with a €240 million investment package, announced on April 8, 2026.
The funds are split across three areas. €30 million will go toward purchase subsidies for transport operators replacing diesel trucks with electric heavy goods vehicles, at an average of €15,000 per truck. Another €50 million will fund 180 charging stations for long-distance electric trucks at 73 locations across mainland France, to be completed within three years.
The remaining €80 million targets industrial electrification, including support for companies building electricity-intensive facilities in France.
Heat Pumps as a Household Priority
The residential heating sector is a central part of the plan. France aims to install roughly one million heat pumps per year through 2030, growing the national stock from about 4 million to 8.8 million units.
The government is offering €1,000 grants to 80,000 low-income households to help cover upfront installation costs. Officials said they are also negotiating leasing deals that would keep monthly payments for installation and electricity below what households currently pay for gas heating.
Gas boiler installation will be banned in new buildings starting in late 2026. The government has set a target for 2 million social housing units to move away from gas by 2050.
A Broader European Shift
France is not alone in rethinking its energy strategy. Spain announced a €7 billion emergency package, Germany weighed profit levies on energy companies, and Italy sought additional supplies from Algeria. But analysts say the French plan goes further than most.
The Centre for European Reform assessed France’s approach as “better” than typical crisis responses, noting it “targets hardest hit sectors while also preparing a plan to electrify the French economy faster.”
The centre added a broader warning for the continent: “To improve its energy security, Europe must rapidly shift away from oil and gas imports and towards home-grown clean electricity.”
What Comes Next
France already generates about 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. The government has committed to building six new nuclear reactors by approximately 2035 to 2038, backed by a €70 billion investment program.
Revised renewable targets set solar capacity at 48 GW by 2030 and onshore wind at 35 to 40 GW by 2035. Together with existing hydro and planned offshore wind, decarbonized generation is projected to reach 650 to 693 TWh annually by 2035, up from 458 TWh in 2023, consistent with priorities outlined in the Multiannual Energy Plan.
References
- Jan Rosenow on France’s electrification announcement via X
- Centre for European Reform: Europe’s energy security and the Hormuz crisis
- International Energy Agency: Global oil supply disruption assessment
