Macron Uses 'Notre-Dame' Playbook to Fast-Track 150 Strategic Projects

Overview

• Macron, who held his weekly cabinet meeting in Montluçon on Wednesday, rolled out a plan to accelerate 150 state‑backed industrial and farm projects he calls “cathedrals.”
• The government published a decree Wednesday that sends environmental cases for these projects straight to an administrative appeals court to remove one tier of review and cut roughly a year from timelines.
• At Échassières he inaugurated Imerys’ “Emili” lithium site, slated to produce about 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year from 2030 to supply roughly 700,000 electric cars.
• The portfolio spans 63 departments with about €71 billion in planned investment across batteries, biocarburants, data centers, health, aerospace and defense, with many projects led by small and mid‑sized firms.
• Officials frame the drive as industrial sovereignty, though the mining push faces local environmental opposition, and the Allier project would be France’s first new lithium mine in about 50 years as exploration expands across roughly 20 zones.