France: Emmanuel Macron and Xavier Bertrand fret over the fate of the Ascoval steelworks

Published on : 11/20/2021 – 11:17

A trip by Emmanuel Macron to the north of France was Friday, November 19 the opportunity for a tense exchange between the Head of State and the President of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, who aims to succeed him at the Élysée Palace.

The Ascoval file, named after the steel plant in Saint-Seaulve, in the North, which has just escaped a relocation to Germany, was the subject of a conversation of several minutes between the two men, at the arrival of the Head of State at the Familistère de Guise, in Aisne.

The government has, in fact, succeeded in convincing the German group Saarstahl to give up transferring part of the production of the French steel plant Ascoval, at the cutting edge in environmental matters, across the Rhine.

Competition with Germany

For the Minister of Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, on a trip to Isère on Friday, “what was at stake was the production of electric steel, ie 90% carbon-free in France, compared to coal production. We could see all the collective absurdity of a decision of this nature. “

For Xavier Bertrand, on the other hand, “the solution chosen is not satisfactory.” As long as we have competition from the Germans with coal, they (Ascoval) will not be competitive; it is the electricity tariff that is the problem. We have to give them a preferential rate, it’s the only way to get them out of the woods, “said the candidate for the nomination of the Republicans party for the presidential election in April 2022.

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“As you know, dear President of the Regional Council, the Minister [Agnès Pannier-Runacher] spent his day and night there, they gave up, “replied Emmanuel Macron.” This is not the solution, “Xavier Bertrand said on several occasions.

During the firm exchange that took place at the time of the Republican welcome, the two men extended their handshake and cut each other several times.

“You may know better than everyone else, it’s possible,” said Emmanuel Macron. “No, I want us to have guarantees,” retorted his interlocutor.

The two men then took part in a meeting devoted to the development of Sambre, Avesnois and Thiérache, three underprivileged territories in northern France.

A flagship factory in the region

The announcement of a partial relocation of the activity of this emblematic factory had aroused the anger of many elected politicians. The government also wanted to avoid at all costs an industrial and ecological setback, five months before the presidential election.

The Sainte-Saulve plant, which employs 270 people, produces steel bars dedicated to the manufacture of rails, in particular for the SNCF.

Emmanuel Macron must remain in the region until Monday evening, as part of a trip that his political opponents consider a pre-campaign, while the head of state has not made known his intentions for 2022.

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During this visit which also took him to a health center in Aulnoye-Aymeries, in the North, in need of doctors, the President of the Republic came to check the effectiveness of the aid plan launched there three years in the region.

He announced the release of a new envelope of around 100 million euros to develop infrastructure, in particular the widening of the RN2, and finance projects in the fields of education, culture and of health.

After a weekend in Le Touquet, in the Somme, where his wife owns a house, the president will be in Amiens, his hometown on Monday.

With AFP and Reuters