The French government has shortlisted Paris and 16 other major cities for a €20 million grant that will be used to deliver NFC mobile ticketing solutions for public transportation.

According to NFC World, the €20 million pot is intended to supply the necessary infrastructure for the nationwide deployment of NFC transport ticketing, as well as speed up the roll out of commercial NFC services.

The announcement comes on the heels of France finalizing national NFC standards as carriers, such as Orange prepare to launch NFC services nationwide. This, coupled with other government-led initiatives could place France at the head of the global market, says NFC World.

Each shortlisted city has a population of over 200,000, and features a strong public transportation system. As part of the grant, STIF, the organization that manages public transportation in and around Paris, will receive funding to bring NFC to Besançon, Bordeaux, the Caen region, Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Marseille, Mulhouse, Nice, Reims, Rennes, Strasbourg, Toulon and Toulouse.

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