France

• [New] If adopted, France will become the first country in the world to offer people the chance to trade in an aging vehicle for an electric or folding bicycle.
• [New] In France the health ministry announced that it will lengthen the time between the two shots of mRNA vaccines - the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines - to six weeks, instead of four weeks.
• [New] France is offering the owners of old, exhaust-belching cars the opportunity to hand over their vehicles for scrap in return for a 2,500 euro grant to buy an electric bicycle.
• [New] France considers international cooperation as vital for both France and Europe in order to face the 'new front' of space threats, but also as a means to gain new opportunities.
• [New] Countries such as France and the United Kingdom will remove existing digital-services taxes that are solely focused on U.S. companies, once a global deal is agreed.
• [New] The IMF forecasts published on today predicted growth of 4.4% for the euro zone in 2021 and 3.6% for Germany, while France was expected to show a 5.8% expansion.
• [New] The Chenab Bridge - having a length of 1.315 km - will be the highest railway bridge in the world being 359m above the river bed level and will be 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris (France).
• [New] Morocco's economy relies heavily on its foreign trading partners such as Spain, France, and the United States and the World Bank predicts GDP will grow 4% in 2021.
• [New] France is expected to help Australia create a sovereign industry for submarine sustainment, facilitated by a high level of technology transfer.
• [New] France too is laying bold plans, with one of the most generous incentive schemes of any country, the French government plans to offer up to US$13,150 to electric vehicle buyers to encourage adoption.
• [New] Some 9,000 people were expected to receive their shots there over three days as the French government tries to speed up vaccinations amid a fresh outbreak of infections.
• [New] France President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday put his country into a third lockdown and said schools would close for three weeks to cope with a third wave of COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
• [New] Oil Futures Decline As France Locks Down - Oil fell the most in roughly a week after France announced it will start a month-long lockdown, while OPEC + voiced its concerns about the strength of oil demand ahead of an expected decision this week on output.
• [New] Further lockdown measures are likely in both France and Germany in coming days with risk of further deterioration.
• The United States, Canada, China, Germany, The United Kingdom, Japan, France, and a few others are lucrative markets for serological transplant diagnostics, and are expected to dominate throughout the forecast period.
• The spectrum auction for 5G services has been postponed by several federal governments across key countries, such as Spain, the U.S., and France, which will hinder the market growth.
• France will participate in joint military drills in Japan along with host Japan and the United States for the first time next month.
• France aims to increase its use of renewable energies to produce a third of its power by 2030 and sees wind turbines as a key weapon.
• Although European oil consumption is weak as France, Germany and Italy extend or impose new lockdowns due to rising Covid-19 cases, fuel use is growing fast in America, where the vaccination campaign is progressing better than expected.
• The marketplace on this day is looking past a worrisome rise in Covid infections in Europe, including France imposing another business lockdown that will last about a month.
• The greatest increases (relative to their GDPs) would take place in China, India, Russia, and South Africa, while the smallest will be in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
• The grant procedure for French and European patents can last several years and will depend on the complexity of the invention and the technical field concerned.

Last updated: 14 April 2021