French lawmakers move to nationalise steelmaker ArcelorMittal France

"The lower house of the French parliament voted late on Thursday to nationalise the country's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal France, though the measure is opposed by the government and likely to be rejected by the Senate. The measure was proposed by far-left parties in the Assemblée nationale, and is aimed at heading off plans by ArcelorMittal to slash jobs. The steel giant announced cost-cutting measures in Europe this year that would result in an estimated 270 job losses in France."

"Far-left deputies said nationalisation was the only way to save the company and its 15,000 jobs in France. Other leftist parties voted in favour, the far right abstained and the parties that support France's minority government were against. The Senate, which is dominated by centrist and centre-right parties, and is almost certain to reject the bill. Economy Minister Roland Lescure said in a social media post on Monday the vote was a "populist response to a structural problem"."

"Industry Minister Sebastien Martin said the law "would weaken employment instead of protecting it", and said the threat to the company comes from a "tsunami" of Asian imports that must be dealt with at the European level. China alone produced one billion tons of steel last year, more than half of global production, far ahead of India (150 million), Japan (84 million) and the United States (79 million), according to the industry organisation World Steel."

France's lower house voted to nationalise ArcelorMittal France to prevent job cuts, while the government opposes the move and the Senate is likely to reject it. Far-left parties proposed nationalisation to block ArcelorMittal's European cost-cutting that would cut about 270 French jobs and to protect roughly 15,000 jobs. Other leftists backed the bill, the far right abstained and governing parties opposed it. Economy Minister Roland Lescure called the vote a "populist response to a structural problem". Industry Minister Sebastien Martin warned the law "would weaken employment" and blamed a "tsunami" of Asian imports requiring European action. China produced one billion tons of steel last year, far outpacing European production.

Read at The Local France