The La France insoumise-NFP group of deputies is calling for a parliamentary commission of inquiry into public aid paid to the Michelin company, franceinfo learned from LFI. The rebellious deputies specify that they submitted this request for a commission this Thursday. It follows the announcement of the closure of two Michelin factories in France by 2026 this Tuesday, those of Vannes (Morbihan) and of Cholet (Maine-et-Loire). More than 1,200 jobs are threatened. The group clarified that it would support employees. “Our first commitment is to take care of everyone, directly impacted by these restructuring measures, and to help each person find a stable professional future.said its president Florent Menegaux. Second commitment is to recreate at least as many jobs as we have lost in the region.”
This parliamentary commission of inquiry, if its creation is well accepted by the conference of group presidents, “would allow us to understand why it (Michelin) is possible to combine massive layoffs, benefit of public aid and record payments to shareholders over the same period”affirms LFI.
The subject had been mentioned during questions to the government this Tuesday by the communist deputy for Puy-de-Dôme, André Chassaigne. He had questioned the government on the layoff and restructuring plans announced by Michelin and Auchan. Prime Minister Michel Barnier then declared to have, too, the “concern to know what we did in these groups with the public money that we gave them”. “We will ask questions and we will see if this money was used well or badly to learn lessons”. The response came on Wednesday morning. The government announced through its spokesperson, Maud Bergeon, that it will not request reimbursement of public aid.
Tens of millions of euros in public aid since 2013
In his press release, Insoumise France lists its grievances against the tire giant: “We can thus cite 42 million euros for the research tax credit in 2023, more than 65 million euros due to the tax credit for competitiveness and employment (CICE) since 2013, 12 million euros for partial unemployment in 2020, or the 2020 automobile support plan with a fund of 200 million euros”.
At the same time, the parliamentary group denounces the attitude of the world tire leader regarding the remuneration of its shareholders. “The sums of dividends and share buybacks amounted to 456 million euros in 2020 and 410 million euros in 2021. After they more than doubled to reach 923 million euros in 2022 and 892 million euros in 2023, the company announced that it wanted to increase these sums to a record amount of 1.464 billion euros for the year 2024. The company even announced last February the launch of a new program share repurchase of one billion euros between 2024 and 2026”calculates LFI.
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