France 2030: 1% of projects capture 49% of funds, according to the Court of Auditors

The mid-term review of the France 2030 investment plan published by the Court of Auditors calls into question the strategy for allocating public funds. While the National Assembly voted in November 2021 to authorize a record commitment of 34 billion euros to bring the total program to 54 billion euros, the allocation method chosen by the State poses a problem of economic efficiency.

Of the 33.4 billion euros in credits committed at the end of 2025 for 7,377 contractualized projects, the distribution of financial envelopes displays a marked asymmetry. According to the Court's report, 1% of projects account for 49% of the overall amounts. In addition, 59% of the sums allocated are grouped into four key areas: higher education and research, structural innovation, electronic components and the automotive sector, in particular for the production of batteries.

This concentration is accompanied by massive recourse to direct subsidies, which represent 82% of the aid granted. This choice proves to be significantly more burdensome for the State's finances than mechanisms for repayable advances or equity participation in the companies supported.

The sterile competition of state checks

The use of public funds for large international groups subjects the State to the risk of windfall. The Court of Auditors points to the example of large-scale projects carried out by multinationals such as Ineos or Heidelberg. These global players have the financial capacity to organize direct competition between the aid offered by the different European countries before determining the location of their establishments.

In this escalation of public capital, financing by France has sometimes been used to cover the cost of material investments that these groups would have made with their own funds. The risk of windfall extends to several sectoral systems displaying a low intensity of innovation, far from the initial objective of technological disruption.

A lack of alternative levers to public funds

The report highlights the lack of strategic preparation when creating the investment plan. The authors of the study indicate that non-direct budget instruments were only used marginally. Sectoral public procurement, the establishment of incentive regulations or operational support for companies have not been mobilized as the main driving force.

Faced with the deterioration of the public deficit and the lack of visibility on the disbursement deadlines, the Court of Auditors recommends reversing the allocation logic. The magistrates suggest reserving the payment of non-refundable subsidies only for cases of last resort, when no other financial or regulatory tool allows the project to be unblocked.

Results measured on the ground At the end of 2025, only 642 projects had reached their operational end, or less than 10% of the applications selected. According to data from the Court of Auditors, the public subsidy only had a decisive triggering effect for around half of the projects supported. For the rest of the beneficiaries, the aid acted as a financial accelerator for operations already underway. For its part, the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE) indicated in mid-October that 44 billion euros had been committed by mid-2026, now that the system was meeting its objectives of strengthening productive capacities.

Machine-translated from French