Last week, French president Emmanuel Marcon presented a massive investment plan – “France 2030”. The roadmap sketches out France’s digital and green transformation and is meant to set up the country – as well as Europe – for growth and success ahead of the French EU Council presidency. But is this strategy only part of electoral campaigning, as critics say? Or does “France 2030” echo bigger plans which the EU has already set out for the bloc? Host Mark Leonard is in our Paris office talking to office head and ECFR policy fellow Tara Varma: What are Macron’s plans for the EU Council presidency in 2022 and beyond? Can France fill the void that Germany leaves post-Merkel while forming a new government, and how? This podcast was recorded on 19 October 2021. Further reading: - The lonely leader: The origins of France’s strategy for EU foreign policy” by Tara Varma and Mathilde Ciulla: https://ecfr.eu/article/the-lonely-leader-the-origins-of-frances-strategy-for-eu-foreign-policy/ Bookshelf: - Peut-on changer de logique?, Philosophe Magazine No. 153 - October 2021