"We have to stick resolutely to this choice, otherwise we will once again fall behind our Chinese competitors". On a visit to Renault's Sandouville plant, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, accompanied by the car company's CEO Luca de Meo and the Mayor of Le Havre, Edouard Philippe, defended Europe's decision "to switch to electric vehicles", a decision which he said would enable an entire industrial sector to be built up in France, from lithium mining to the marketing of vehicles. (COMPLETE VIDI34MT6E4_EN, VIDI34MR4Z2_EN, VIDI34MR4ZB_EN, VIDI34MT7XX_EN) IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES