A partially coal-fired thermical power station in Gardanne, southern France, pictured on November 17, 2011. France will reduce use of fossil fuels by 30 percent by 2030 as part of a strategy to halve overall energy use by 2050, President Francois Hollande has announced.

France will reduce use of fossil fuels by 30 percent by 2030 as part of a strategy to halve overall energy use by 2050, President Francois Hollande announced on Friday.

"I propose that we set a goal of reducing consumption of fossil energy by 30 percent by 2030," Hollande said at a national conference on the environment in Paris.

"We can make savings of 20 to 50 billion (euros, or $27 to 67 billion) in our energy bill by 2030," he said.

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