After introducing a 1-hour per day 22 kW AC free charging at 372 dealerships in the French distribution network, now Renault is announcing a free annual Autolib charging subscription (worth €15) for all Renault EV owners..
Sadly, this time it is just a time-limited promotion through February 28, 2014, but with ~4,200 Autolib charging points in the Paris region, this is an added benefit for sure:
"Renault is offering free annual ‘Recharge Auto’ subscriptions for Autolib’ charging stations to all Renault Z.E. Electric Vehicles users until February 28, 2014, provided that name mentioned on the driver license is identical to the name mentioned on the car registration document."
And it seems it is not fully free, because EV owner must pay for parking at some Autolib spots at1€/hour:
"They will be billed €1 per hour including parking. Outside Autolib’ parking spaces, parking is free for electric vehicles in Paris."
In public spaces in Paris parking is free, so drivers will use this promotion just when they need charging.
There's one hitch though. You need the proper cable to plug into Autolibs' chargers. Autolib points have Type 1 and Type 3, but ZOE (and the new Kangoo Z.E.) have Type 2. In the U.S., the task is simple because almost all charging points have J1772 (Type 1) plug with fixed cables and almost all cars have J1772 inlet. In France, it's a different story.