PARIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday he was working on legislation to strengthen the country's so-called 'green' economy in areas such as hydrogen fuel and renewable energy technologies.

France and Germany are hoping Europe will push efforts to develop an ambitious green industrial policy as part of its response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), to give Europe a competitive edge against the United States. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Heavens)