German FinMin: French showdown over combustion engine ban regrettable

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said France had declared a "showdown" in the dispute over the EU's plans to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035, in a newspaper interview published on Friday.

"It is very regrettable that the French government is declaring a showdown to ban the internal combustion engine," Lindner told the Funke Media Group.

Lindner added that his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, "knows full well that car mobility could become more and more expensive for many hard-working people. We must take these concerns seriously."