“If ArcelorMittal falls, the whole northern industry is going to fall”: why it is necessary to nationalize the blast furnaces

Dunkirk, beating heart of this 1^is May 2025. At any other era, this stronghold of French industry would have been flattered by such a distinction. But the city of Jean Bart has nevertheless become the symbol of modern filibustery to which multinationals indulge, a high price for the public authorities a pseudo-preservation of economic activity against employment and the rights of workers.

Since the formalization Wednesday April 23 by the Directorate of ArcelorMittal of the abolition of 636 positions in France, including 177 in its historic Dunkerquoise factory and 5 on the neighboring site of Mardyck, the North CGT called for general mobilization this Thursday 1^is May to force Mittal to give prospects to “Dunkirk’s economic lung. (…) If Mittal does not realize it very quickly, we ask that the state regains the hand, or even go as far as a nationalization ”was already pleading last Monday Christelle VEIGNIE, Secretary General of the Local Union.

The announcement at the end of 2024 by the management of the group of the breakdown in the decarbonation project at 1.8 billion euros, including 850 million euros in public aid, of the two tople-flangers in fact condemns this most emitting industrial effect of greenhouse effects from France to a planned obsolence by 2028-2029, in view of the low level of investments already launched Connoisseurs of the file.

“If ArcelorMittal falls, the whole industry in northern France will fall”

“Our installations are in a pitiful state”Corrobore Reynald Quaegebeur, central union delegate CGT ArcelorMittal France. In 2023, a fire caused a blast-furnace for several months. However, for his colleague Gaëtan Lecocq, secretary general CGT of the group, “If ArcelorMittal falls, the whole industry in northern France will fall”with “Social, economic, industrial catastrophic consequences”.

Unions therefore call on the public authorities to no longer be led by the nose by the multinational. Taking note of the trigger by ArcelorMittal“A dismantling of sites in France, slow, violated in the method and uninhibited”the CFDT encourages, in a press release published this Tuesday, Europe and the States in “Deploy recovery plans for sustainable industrial production, by assorting all the public funds of strict conditionalities (…) in terms of industrial carbon footprint, employment, supervision of profits and guarantees of non-farmeture of industrial sites”.

But, for the CGT, we are not there anymore. In view of the reorientation of ArcelorMittal to the United States, India and Brazil, at the expense of the old continent, the metallurgy federation advocates a more radical solution. “The multinational paid 11.7 billion euros to its shareholders since 2021. It is the equivalent of the price of 14 electric ovens. For the decarbonation of steel production, there is therefore only one solution: nationalization “asserts David Blaise, his steel coordinator.

Nearly forty-five years after the statement of Usinor and Sacilor, many voices on the left offer to repeat the operation. “A recovery in public hands is essential within the framework of a real emergency plan for the steel industry. The State must affirm its role as a strategist, to preserve the economic sovereignty of our country in terms of steel production and engage the sector in the ecological transition ”wrote on April 20 Fabien Roussel (PCF). “The United Kingdom has done it (with its last two blast furnaces-editor’s note), I don’t see why we would not be able to, it is our duty”insisted on Marine Tondelier for environmentalists last Sunday.

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