Many nonindustry folks we've talked to about electric vehicles tend to cite some type of range anxiety as a reason not to consider an electric vehicle now or down the line. You know, that nagging feeling that you'll end up out of juice and stranded somewhere because there's no way to get a charge? Frankly, it's an understandable concern -- it's not like we pass electric charging stations on our way to and from work, and who wants to do the mental gymnastics to figure out whether or not he has enough range to get there and back every time he heads out the door? While ever-improving battery technology can tackle part of this problem, the French government is stepping up to address the infrastructure side of things by earmarking 1.5 billion euros (about $2.2 billion) for the development of electric charging stations across the country.

Aside from the ongoing development to create the charging network, the government is also requiring charging stations for upcoming residential and commercial real-estate projects: New apartment complexes with parking lots will be required to outfit charging stations starting in 2012; commercial developers will face the same requirement for office parking lots beginning in 2015.

Part of the government spending is also going toward battery manufacturing (Renault SA and Peugeot-Citroen being major beneficiaries of the largesse), thanks to a "strategic investing fund," but the real news, to us, is the charging stations. Juicing up your battery while you sleep is one thing -- people are quite used managing the charge on their mobile electronics at this point, so doing the same for a car battery is no different. The problem is that a dead cell phone during your day is an inconvenience; a dead battery in an EV is a potential emergency. Only widely available charging stations will truly push EVs into the mainstream consciousness as a viable transportation option. France is moving ever closer to that reality.