France is making a large part of its own defense system (fighter jet, navy ships, etc.) and for it to be financially viable, sells some models to other countries. One very good client is Saudi Arabia. You will never hear criticism from this government against Saudis.

One crazy idea: tax kerosene and use this to fund this ticket which will now also have TGV 😅

From the article:

The pass will also cover local bus, metro, and tram travel, “if possible,” Beaune said. The full details have not yet been finalised.

Of course, I’m not particularly confident that they will actually cover this but at least they are thinking about it.

To be frank, I’m amazed by this announcement. I take TER every weekend and a two-way trip is 108€, 54€ (-50%) if you get the yearly pass which costs 30€. This would save me so much money.

Yes it doesn’t encompass TGV but with this 49€ ticket you can potentially get rid of many car commuters which is already a good thing :)

Yes, but afaik corrosion is still a big issue in these designs so they are not ready for commercial use.