For the first time since 2020 we are closing more factories than we are opening in France. However, this year there were 61 inaugurations of new factories and 43 extensions of existing sites. Similar figures to last year.
The big change is the continued closures. Everything has accelerated since the European elections. The industrial fabric seems caught in a washing machine. Compared to the previous year, our barometer announces an increase of almost 60% in sites that could close. Automotive equipment manufacturers remain the first to be affected, along with paper and furniture manufacturers. Thousands of jobs are affected: nearly 10,000 according to our barometer which is not exhaustive. Aware of the situation, the executive launched a task force against the social plans.
The government released a less negative assessment two weeks ago. But the methodology is different. L’Usine Nouvelle takes closures into account when the shutdown is announced. The government counts them once the key is truly closed. And above all, the Bercy barometer stops in the first half of the year. That is to say before the collapse this fall. Very recently, the steelmaker ArcelorMittal definitively confirmed the closure of the Reims and Denain sites, for example.
There are also postponements of major projects. Eramet and Stellantis have thrown in the towel on their respective battery recycling projects. Same for Suez associated with the Loop recycler in Moselle. According to information from L’Usine Nouvelle in the same sector, the American group Eastman could also give up its 1 billion euro factory in Normandy. We also revealed that ArcelorMittal – again – is delaying its major investment plan in green steel in Dunkirk. The group calls for measures to protect European steel.
While the factories are closing, it is in any case the very idea of an industrial future for France which is collapsing a little more every day.
Find this column, and previous ones, on the France Inter website
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
