France's C3IV Green Industry Tax Credit Extension Enters Force

What France's C3IV Extension Covers and What It Is Expected to Deliver

France's green industry investment tax credit, known as C3IV, has formally entered a three-year extension after the publication of decree no. 2026-763 in the Journal officiel on 11 August 2026. The measure supports industrial projects in four strategic sectors: batteries, wind power, solar power and heat pumps.

The extension, adopted in the 2026 finance law, is expected to support around 40 additional projects by 2030, representing roughly €8 billion in extra industrial investment and 20,000 direct jobs, at an estimated public cost of €1.1 billion. The scheme covers the full value chain, including the manufacture of equipment, components and essential sub-components, as well as the production and recovery of critical raw materials needed in those sectors.

The list of eligible activities was set by an order dated 10 August 2026 and published in the Journal officiel on 12 August, in line with European state-aid rules. To date, C3IV has already supported about 73 projects for €3.6 billion in tax credits, subject to their completion, expected to generate nearly €22 billion in industrial investment by 2030.

Among the projects already backed are the modernisation of Siemens Gamesa's wind turbine blade plant in Le Havre, with around 300 additional direct jobs, and the creation of a permanent-magnet recycling facility by Carester in Lacq, with 92 direct jobs.

Why the Three-Year Extension Matters for Green Manufacturers and Project Sponsors

France is using C3IV as a central tool of its green reindustrialisation push

The extension is not simply a tax measure. It sits within a broader objective set out by France's 2023 green industry law: accelerate reindustrialisation, reduce dependence on non-EU suppliers and position France among Europe's leaders in clean technology manufacturing. The four supported sectors were chosen precisely because they are strategically important for energy sovereignty and decarbonisation.

The extension turns a time-limited scheme into a medium-term planning assumption

For manufacturers deciding where to locate new capacity, the three-year visibility makes French projects easier to model. The government expects the extension to support about 40 additional projects, but that outcome depends on project sponsors executing their plans. Even the already announced 73 projects and the €22 billion investment total remain conditional on completion.

The value-chain scope matters as much as the headline amounts

By covering equipment, components, sub-components and critical raw material production and recovery, the decree aims to capture more than final assembly. This is illustrated by the Carester project in Lacq, which focuses on recycling permanent magnets rather than producing a finished clean-tech product. For suppliers in the four sectors, the eligible-activities order opens a wider range of investment projects than a simple manufacturing subsidy would.

The competitive effect within Europe is real but bounded by state-aid rules

French authorities describe C3IV as one of Europe's most attractive green industry incentives. The extension strengthens France's pitch to internationally mobile industrial projects. At the same time, the order was explicitly published in conformity with EU state-aid law, meaning the scheme's generosity remains subject to European competition constraints.

What Eligible Companies Should Check After the August 2026 Decree

For manufacturers and project sponsors in the four eligible sectors, the entry into force of the extension has several practical consequences:

• Check whether your project fits the eligible activities fixed by the 10 August 2026 order, especially if it involves components, sub-components or critical raw material recovery rather than final assembly.
• Align investment timelines with the three-year extension and the government's planning horizon to 2030, since the new tranche is expected to cover around 40 additional projects.
• Treat the €1.1 billion estimated cost and the project count as a budgetary envelope, not a guaranteed allocation; credits remain subject to project realisation and EU state-aid compliance.
• Use the published examples as a reference for scale: the Le Havre blade modernisation generated about 300 direct jobs, while the Carester recycling plant in Lacq generated 92 direct jobs.