Paris Launches National Plan To Reduce Dependence On China

This Tuesday, May 5, Bercy launched a “national plan on rare earths and critical minerals”, metals essential to the wind power, electric cars and military devices sectors. The production and processing of these materials are overwhelmingly in the hands of China.

How can we free ourselves from China where rare earths come from, this “oil of tomorrow” essential to the manufacture of our electric cars, our wind turbines and our smartphones? The government presented, this Tuesday, May 5, a national plan on rare earths to “ recbuild a French sector for the production of rare earths and permanent magnets » in France. Visiting Lacq (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Caremag factory, which belongs to the French group Carester, Roland Lescure, the Minister of the Economy, and Sébastien Martin, the Minister of Industry, announced that they wanted “ secure our supplies » in these materials that have become essential to the ecological transition.

This specific group of “ rare metals », produced in very small quantities, is found in the composition “ military, aeronautical, automotive, wind and rail systems », electronics. However, in this sector, Europe is today “ in a situation of high vulnerability ”, due to its great dependence on Beijing.

China “ represents between 60 and 70% of mining production, between 80 and 90% of refining, between 80 and 90% of magnet manufacturing, and on certain rare earths, it can have almost exclusive control », Details Bercy this Tuesday, during a brief intended for journalists.

The government is banking on recycling and refining

This quasi-Chinese exclusivity is “ the result of an industrial strategy that has been pursued by China since the 1980s with prices that are artificially low, environmental standards that are much less restrictive and which have eliminated competition. And the challenge for us today is to rebuild this rare earth sector », Detailed the entourage of the Minister of the Economy.

Because last year, China did not hesitate to use this control to put pressure on Washington, in its standoff with Donald Trump over customs duties. It imposed restrictions on exports of its rare earths, which had consequences on the European continent: “ the prices of neodymium oxide/praseodymium have almost doubled. Exports to the United States fell by 90% in May 2025,” with certain American manufacturers forced to suspend production of their vehicles, underlined those close to the Ministry of the Economy.

Also read: China suspends exports of rare earths: the global automobile and defense industry holds its breath

And if no rare earth is extracted in France, the government is banking on recycling and refining, two areas which are part of “ a strategy implemented in 2021 » and that it will be “ to accelerate “. Bercy counts “ increase our production capacities (…) and support the demand addressed to the French sector ». Car « without resilience on rare earths, there is no industrial sovereignty », declared for his part the Minister of Industry Sébastien Martin, after visiting the Caremag factory under construction.

Alongside this site, other investments have been made in recent years in La Rochelle and Grenoble, which will make it possible to “ gradually rebuild industrial capacities, non-existent in France and very limited in Europe a few years ago », Indicates the government in its press release.

Support and tax incentives

The objectives are ambitious. This will involve producing by 2030:

« drare earth oxides to satisfy 10% of global demand for heavy rare earths, i.e. 100% of European needs and 25% of European needs for light rare earths;
rare earth alloys to meet around 10% of the needs of European industry and 100% recycled NdFeB magnets, particularly for offshore wind power », Details the government.

This plan will go through “ support for the supply of rare earths and production “. The Infravia fund, supported by the State and American and Japanese funds, has made two initial investments, including one on the Carrester site in Lacq, where rare earths will be refined.

Bercy also intends to rely on the France 2030 plan, which “ will also support around ten additional projects until 2027, via the extension of the call for projects to support critical metals projects including rare earths “. The conditions of access to the Strategic Projects Guarantee (GPS), a program which allows “ finance projects considered strategic for the French economy ”, will be relaxed. All rare earth extraction projects will be able to benefit from it – until now, GPS has been limited to wind power.

Paris also highlights the signing of around twenty agreements with mining countries. The thorny subject of dependence on China on these precious metals will be on the G7 table during a special videoconference, which will take place in two days.