In the course of a displacement of the President of the Republic in the AISNE, the nomination candidate on the right arrested the head of state about the future of the steel mill located in the North.
Le Monde with AFP
“I want to save this factory. You too?” Taking advantage of a visit by Emmanuel Macron to Familistère de Guise (Aisne), Friday, 19 November, Xavier Bertrand has directly arrested the President of the Republic on the situation of the Ascoval steelworks. The future of the plant located in Saint-Seaulve (North), which employs 270 employees and produces steel bars for the manufacture of rails, remains blurred. The German Saarstahl group that holds it considering to relocate part of its production in Germany, where the flocks turn coal, much cheaper than electricity, whose prices flame.
After a meeting in Bercy Thursday evening, Saarstahl, who has been holding the steel mill since June 2021, finally gave up his project. But the government did not specify the guarantees granted, arouse Mr. Bertrand’s concern. “The successful solution is not satisfactory, thus launched the President of the Hauts-de-France Region and candidate for the investiture of the Republicans (LR) party for the Head of State. It is the Tariff of electricity The problem. As long as we have the competition of the Germans with the coal, they [ascoval] will not be competitive. We must give them the preferential rate, this is the only way to get them out of business. sustainably. “
“As you know, dear President of the Regional Council, the Minister [Industry] spent his day and night,” said Macron, inviting him to “talk about it” Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who has announced that the ASCOVAL binding contract to EDF was going to change at 1 January to “stabilize” the cost of electricity. “I want to save this factory. You too?”, Then insisted Mr. Bertrand. “They have at my request from yesterday summoned the company,” replied Mr. Macron. “I’m telling you that it is not the solution”, interrupted the region’s president, requiring “guarantees” on the electricity rate granted to the plant that employs 270 employees.
“You may know better than all the others,” Mr. Macron. “The problem is not to know who’s right, take into account the point of view of which I am the spokesman,” retorted his interlocutor. The head of state then cut short by concluding: “Thank you for being alongside the other elected officials who work for the territory. With me you have a President of the Republic who fights for the industry on the ground . “
” We are relieved “
In a released release Friday afternoon, Saarstahl confirmed that “reflections concerning a possible limited and temporary transfer of volumes are no longer prosecuted”. The steel group emphasized the “success” of “many talks” with “customers, suppliers, staff”, who took place in “collaboration with the French authorities”, but without giving more details on the counterparties or the insurances obtained to give up his project.
“We will not be able to enter the details of conversations between a customer and his supplier, but what has been at the heart of the solution has been the renegotiation of the contractual conditions with regard to the rails, with all the Customers, who are French and Belgian. I think that the first customer of Hayange is well known, “said Minister delegated to the industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, alluding to the SNCF.
Three work trails had been put on the table at different work meetings between the German steel and government representatives, one of which was to index the SAARSTAHL binding contract with the SNCF on the world. iron flying. Another option was to adapt the ASCOVAL electricity supply contract to EDF. On a displacement Friday in the Isère, M me Pannier-Runacher praised a decision “found collectively”.
“What was at stake was an electrical steel production, that is 90% decarbonated in France, compared to coal production. We could see all the collective absurdity a decision of this nature, “said the minister. Union side, “we are relieved, it was a nonsense for us”, as much “that it is public money that saved us,” reacted to the France-Presse Cyril Morelle , elected CGT.