France outlines ambitious plans to electrify more than 6,000 communes

A government scheme to electrify over 6,000 communes and phase out gas and fossil fuel usage across France has been announced. 

The ambitious electrification programme covers 109 trial areas, just over half of the 197 that applied.

These areas range from rural villages to cities as large as Lyon and Bordeaux, with areas sometimes covering entire departments. There are rural agglomerations as well as inter-communal syndicates included.

Overall up to a quarter of residents across France are potentially impacted.

Trial areas will be “real-world laboratories for phasing out gas” in France, said government spokesperson Maud Bregeon.

An interactive map of the communes included can be seen below, however note that in some cases these represent agglomerations covering dozens of nearby communes.

An alternative map showing the locations covered is available on media outlet Sud-Ouest here. 

Reduce reliance on fossil fuels

It is the latest in a series of plans by the French state to electrify the country, reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and gas, the majority of which are imported.

While France leads the way in nuclear production for electricity, the vast majority of its oil and gas reserves are imported.

These make up to 60% of the country’s total energy consumption, and as the current tensions in the Middle East have shown, disruption to supplies can quickly lead to rising prices for residents and authorities alike.

On a European level, a push to move away from gas – a large part of which is still imported from Russia – is also underway and is another motivation for the plans.

Around a third of the selected municipalities included in the trial aim to eventually take themselves off of France’s gas grid, completely electrifying themselves. This would see households switch to fully electric consumption, and where necessary replacing gas appliances with electric ones.

However, this will only happen “where there is scattered consumption requiring very costly maintenance,” said the government announcing the scheme.

“It is not a matter of removing the grid where there is significant gas production or where industries depend on it and cannot switch away at a reasonable cost.”

The largest cities included in the trial – Lyon, Bordeaux, Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg, and Grenoble – have all committed to decommissioning at least part of their gas grid, however.

France will also look to become a world leader in hydrogen usage, funding €1.2 billion in research and development over hydrogen usage in the steel industry over the coming 15 years. 

What will change? 

The scheme will consist of measures in several areas; electrifying transport, agriculture, businesses, as well as residential housing. 

The scheme focuses on four main criteria: 

• Phasing out gas usage – the overarching goal of the scheme

• Phasing out heating oil (fioul) usage

• Electrifying mobility (electric vehicle infrastructure) and public transport

• The electrification of "all other activities, particularly agriculture… artisans or industrial businesses,” said government spokesperson Maud Bregeon

Exact details are currently scarce, as each trial area will outline a tailored plan to fit its circumstances. 

“It is up to elected officials to define their own multi-year roadmap and the trajectory that suits them best, working on the ground with their residents,” Ms Bregeon added. 

Areas included in the trial have until December 1 to set up initial objectives, but this does not mean they will be made publicly available on this date.

Residents in trial areas should keep their eyes peeled for official communication on the scheme however, as they may be able to give their opinions or recommendations or otherwise attend local meetings on the matter.

Each area will have support from France’s ecological transition agency Ademe, as well as the directions régionales de l'environnement, de l'Aménagement et du Logement (Dreal).

Currently, specific funding has not been earmarked for the transition, as France prepares for fraught debates on the 2027 budget amid a growing debt crisis. 

However, trial areas will receive priority for up to €10 billion in energy saving certificates (certificats d’économies d’énergie), notably for replacing old gas and fioul heating systems for homes as well as electrifying public infrastructure. 

A second phase of the scheme will be outlined in October, that will reallocate funds deemed ineffective and transfer them towards more useful programmes, which the 109 trial areas will be able to benefit from. 

This second part of the scheme “will fund ambitious measures, such as phasing out gas boilers, electrifying bus networks, and providing financial support to install at least one public electric vehicle fast-charging station in every municipality with more than 3,000 inhabitants,” said Ms Bregeon.

These areas will also be “the first to benefit from [future] measures put forward by the government.”