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BRUSSELS/PARIS, May 26-- As markets and industries lick their wounds from the impact of the coronavirus crisis, European governments are turning their focus to reopening and rescuing the battered economy. France on Tuesday unveiled a major recovery plan to revive the country's auto industry, which has been crippled by the loss of sales and production during the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown aimed to limit the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, an online dashboard maintained by the WHO European Region showed that 2,044,870 confirmed COVID-19 cases had been reported in 54 countries, with 175,184 deaths as of 10:00 a.m. CET (0800 GMT) on Tuesday. "HISTORIC PLAN" IN FRANCE Following a visit to a Valeo car parts factory in northern France, President Emmanuel Macron announced an 8-billion-euro (8.78 billion U.S. dollars) rescue plan to help the recovery of the auto industry. "The state will provide more than eight billion euros in aid to the sector," Macron said. The president, who met with industry bosses early in the day, said the "historic plan," which aims to "face a historic situation," was based on a support package and a scrappage scheme to shift towards less polluting vehicles. "We need to defend our industry and make France Europe's top producer of clean vehicles," with an output of one million electric and hybrid cars per year by 2025, said Macron. "Bankruptcies should be avoided at all costs," he said. To help promote clean cars, he also announced a higher state bonus for the purchase of a clean vehicle by individual consumers and businesses, from 6,000 euros to 7,000 euros. | 
