French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday announced 1 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars) in spending on nuclear energy research and nuclear safety, as part of a 35-billion-euro (49.7-billion-dollar) programme of investment in innovation, reported dpa.
Nuclear energy received the bulk of a total 1.3 billion euros set aside for renewable energy as part of an ambitious programme of investment in innovation, Sarkozy said in a briefing to the nation on the state of the 18-month-old spending programme.
In just his fourth press conference at the Elysee palace since becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy defended the programme from accusations by the opposition Socialists of profligacy.
"We can see what happened in Greece: a reduction in spending is not enough to overcome a crisis," Sarkozy said.
In order to secure growth, France had to invest in "deposits of growth for tomorrow," he argued.
Dubbed the "big loan", Sarkozy announced the investment scheme in December 2009 as France was struggling to emerge from the global financial crisis.
Five areas have been prioritized for funding: higher education and training, industry and small businesses, sustainable development, research and digital technology.
Of the 35 billion euros announced for projects submitted for approval by international juries, 12 billion euros has been allocated towards some 400 projects so far.
By the end of that year, that amount will have reached 20 billion euros, Sarkozy said.
The government is borrowing 22 billion euros to fund the programme.
The remaining 13 billion euros has been allocated from repayments on government loans to French banks during the financial crisis.
The Socialists, who are tipped to defeat Sarkozy in next year's presidential election, accuse the government of recklessly adding to already vertiginous debt levels.
France's public deficit of 7.1 per cent in 2010 is more than double the European Union limit of 3.0 per cent.
Sarkozy, who has yet to announce whether he will run for a second presidential term in April next year but is already in campaign mode, said France had to invest in innovation if it wanted to "be a great nation and continue to preserve its social model."
The French tended to forget that for wealth to be redistributed, it first had to be produced, he said.
The lion's share of the budget - 22 billion euros - is going towards research and higher education.
One hundred projects for "laboratories of excellence" had been approved countrywide, Sarkozy said.
The government also aims to create eight "campuses of excellence" where leading institutions will be housed.
Most of the money announced for nuclear research will go on developing a fourth-generation model of nuclear reactor that France hopes to export worldwide.