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ARNAUD MONTEBOURG

Hollande threatens to nationalize Mittal plant

French President François Hollande is threatening to nationalize a plant owned by steelmaker ArcelorMittal in an increasingly heated dispute in which a minister has said the multinational is no longer welcome in the country.

Published: 27 November 2012 22:44 CET
Hollande threatens to nationalize Mittal plant
Lakshmi Mittal (Photo: ArcelorMittal)

Moments before talks with steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal on Tuedsay, Hollande said that nationalizing ArcelorMittal's plant in northeastern France remained on the table. 

"Nationalization is part of the subjects of the discussion," Hollande said.
  
The talks lasted an hour, a French official said, with Mittal entering and leaving Hollande's Elysée Palace discreetly.
 
A presidential statement said Hollande "asked that discussions between the state and the company continue" until a Saturday deadline to find a new investor for the site.

A company spokesman said that "talks were ongoing."

It was the second time the two men met since the crisis erupted two months ago.

Hollande's nationalisation warning came as forty lawmakers from his Socialist party said they favoured a temporary takeover by the French state of ArcelorMittal's plant in Florange.

"Mittal does not respect our country," a joint statement by the parliamentarians said, adding that his interests "were clearly not that of
France, of its industrial fabric and its workers."

Mittal, who ranks 21st on the Forbes list of the world's richest people, is locked in a battle with France over the future of the Florange site in the traditional, but declining, heartland of the French steel industry in the eastern Lorraine region.

Hollande's government has made a priority of protecting jobs as it seeks to revive France's struggling economy.

ArcelorMittal has said that two blast furnaces at Florange, which were damped down for 14 months prior to their full closure, were uncompetitive in a tough trading climate, partly because they are too far from ports for transportation.

The company gave the government two months, which expires on Saturday, to find a buyer for them. The government says it has two offers, but only for the entire Florange site including other facilities which ArcelorMittal wants to retain and keep operating.

ArcelorMittal has refused to sell the full operation and warned that nationalization of the Florange facilities would threaten the viability of all
of its activities across France, where it employs 20,000 people.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, meanwhile, tried to limit the damage to investor perceptions after Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg threatened to nationalise Florange and said ArcelorMittal was no
longer welcome in France.

"Everyone can understand that this case is a special one," he said.

"We of course welcome investors on our soil," Moscovici added, stressing that only a temporary nationalization had been envisaged so far.

Montebourg, who is suggesting that the state nationalise Florange so as to pass the entire site on to a buyer, raised the stakes on Monday, saying France did not want ArcelorMittal in the country any more and was looking for a partner to take over the group's operations at the plant.

"We do not want Mittal in France any longer because they do not respect France," Montebourg told the French financial daily Les Echos.

"Mittal's lies since 2006 are damning."

But Montebourg later tempered his comments, saying he meant he did not want Mittal's methods in France, accusing it of "non-respect of its commitments, blackmail and threats."

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ANGELA MERKEL

Anger as London accused of blaming Merkel for Brexit talks deadlock

EU leaders and politicians expressed anger on Tuesday accusing London of trying to pin the blame on German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the deadlock in Brexit talks between the EU and the British government

Published: 8 October 2019 14:38 CEST
Anger as London accused of blaming Merkel for Brexit talks deadlock
Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel in Berlin in August. Photo: DPA

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused of playing a “stupid blame game” on Tuesday after Downing street sources appeared to blame German chancellor Angela Merkel for pushing the Brexit talks between Brussels and London to the brink of collapse.

After a phone call between Johnson and Merkel an anonymous Downing Street source briefed broadcast journalists in the UK, saying Merkel “made clear a deal is overwhelmingly unlikely and she thinks the EU has a veto on us leaving the customs union”.

“Merkel said that if Germany wanted to leave the EU they could do it no problem but the UK cannot leave without leaving Northern Ireland behind in a customs union and in full alignment for ever,” said the source.

“She said Ireland is the government’s special problem and Ireland must at least have a veto on NI leaving. Merkel said the PM should tell Northern Ireland it must stay in full alignment for ever but that even this would not eliminate customs issues,” the source said according to the Guardian newspaper.

“It was a very useful clarifying moment in all sorts of ways. If this represents a new established position then it means a deal is essentially impossible not just now but ever. It also made clear that they are willing to torpedo the Good Friday agreement.”

According to the BBC, the prime minister's office believes talks are now “close to breaking down”.

In Berlin, a spokesman for the German government confirmed the two leaders had spoken but said he would not comment on the content of the call.

But EU leaders and politicians in the UK slammed the briefing by a Downing Street source.

Donald Tusk, the European council president, tweeted directly at Johnson: “What’s at stake is not winning some stupid blame game. At stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interests of our people. You don’t want a deal, you don’t want an extension, you don’t want to revoke, quo vadis? [Where are you going?]”

And Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The UK government’s attempt to shift the blame for the Brexit fiasco to anyone but themselves – today it’s Merkel – is pathetically transparent.”

The latest developments came after leaks from the European Commission showed major concerns from the EU about the UK's Brexit plan.

Johnson unveiled his new plan last week aimed at keeping Britain's border with EU member Ireland free-flowing after Brexit – a crucial issue in the divorce talks between Brussels and London.

It envisages keeping Northern Ireland aligned with the EU's single market regulations, but part of a UK-wide customs territory.

But this would mean customs checks on the Irish border, something the EU has long opposed.

READ ALSO: Merkel stresses EU unity as Britain sends new Brexit plan

The Downing Street source reportedly said that Tuesday's call was a “very useful clarifying moment in all sorts of ways”, with the result that “a deal is essentially impossible not just now but ever”.

Open evenings for Brits in Germany

It comes as uncertainty over Brexit and its implications continues for British nationals living in Germany.

A series of open evenings organized by the British Embassy and German authorities are being held throughout the country for Brits to ask questions about Brexit and how to prepare.

There are events in Frankfurt on October 10th, Hamburg on October 15th and Munich on October 24th.

Information evenings have already been held in Berlin and Düsseldorf.

The meetings are free and open to all interested UK nationals although registration is necessary.

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