The FSN – National Fund for the Digital Economy – is managed by specialized CDC teams. Its original budget – €4.25 billion – has been decreased through the transfer of €0.2 billion to Fonds National d’Amorçage, also managed by CDC, and of €0.45 billion to the newly created Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI) through OSEO. It operates along two action lines:
- deploying ultra-high speed broadband networks – €2 billion
- supporting innovative digital content and services – €1.6 billion
For this second action line, FSN uses two different approaches:
- €0.75 billion (down from the original €1.4 billion) is provided through loans awarded within “appels à manifestion d’intérêt” (AMI) or calls for expressions of interest
- €0.85 billion is provided through grants to support R&D actions within “appels à projet” (AAP) or calls for proposals
8 thematic sectors are managed through this second action line:
- Cloud computing
- Support and promotion of digital scientific, educational or cultural content
- Technological building bloks
- e-Health
- Network security and resilience
- Intelligent transport systems
- Digital city
- e-Education
PERICLES operates within the scope of a call for proposals on e-Education, in the second action line managed by FSN.