UPDATE 1-French govt fund to invest 10 mln euros in Heuliez

* Company must present realistic industrial plan

* Govt spokesman says company needs 45 mln euros to survive

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PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - The French state will invest 10 million euros ($13.63 million) in niche car and equipment maker Heuliez, if the company comes up with a realistic industrial plan, government spokesman Luc Chatel said on Tuesday.

Chatel told a news conference after a meeting with Heuliez managers that the company needed 45 million euros to ensure its survival, and that half of this sum had already been found, including through the FSI investment fund and 5 million euros of local authority support from the Poitou-Charentes region in western France, where the company is based.

The company's family shareholders should also contribute to the rescue plan, he said.

Heuliez employs 1,014 people and assembles the Tigra for General Motors unit Opel, as well as branching out into electric vehicles, with the Friendly prototype. ($1=.7337 Euro) (Reporting by Clement Dossin; Writing by Helen Massy-Beresford, editing by Will Waterman)