Macron getting hybrid car as France steps up climate fight

PARIS (AP) — The government of President Emmanuel Macron is putting more of its money where his mouth is, announcing a raft of plans to curb carbon emissions, including a new hybrid-engine armored car for the French leader.

Other steps to be announced Wednesday include an annual bonus of 200 euros ($220) for civil servants who switch to bicycles or car-sharing for their rides to work, said the ecology minister, Elisabeth Borne. That measure will kick in in July.

All government ministers will be switched over to electric or hybrid-engine rechargeable vehicles, and they'll be encouraged to take trains instead of planes for non-emergency trips under four hours, Borne said on France Info radio. She said she'll take the train for a visit to northern France on Friday.

Macron's hybrid-engine armored car will have a rechargeable battery, she said.

Reinforced efforts to protect the Alpine glory of Mont-Blanc, western Europe's highest peak, are also expected to be announced by Macron himself on Thursday. He'll also visit a glacier that, like others across the Alps, is shrinking dramatically.

Borne is going with Macron on that visit to the Alps. She said they'll travel by plane.