Michel Barnier affirmed, Tuesday November 5, that he wanted ” know “ what the Auchan and Michelin groups, which plan to close several sites, resulting in thousands of job losses, have done “public money that we gave them”.
“I'm not proud (…) of a policy that would destroy jobs, never”added the Prime Minister before the National Assembly, questioned by the president of the communist group, André Chassaigne, during the question session to the government. “I am concerned to know what we did in these groups with the public money we gave them. I want to know it. And so we are going to ask questions and we will see if this money was used well or poorly, to learn lessons from it”he developed.
Mr. Barnier said he was “disagree” with Michelin's decision to close its sites in Vannes (Morbihan) and Cholet (Maine-et-Loire), where a total of 1,254 employees work. He said he met its CEO, Florent Menegaux, “a few days ago”.
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Foreign competition
The distributor Auchan, for its part, plans to close around ten stores, in an attempt to relaunch itself after several complicated financial years, resulting in the loss of 2,389 jobs.
The Prime Minister hoped that these groups could “working with the local fabric, local elected officials (…) unions, local employers, chambers of commerce” pour ” put (…) together all the tools we have to support each employee individually and support these territories in the possibility of reconversion”.
“We must create or recreate industrial employment, as well as maintain agricultural employment in our country”affirmed the head of government, referring to the creation at the beginning of 2025 of a “industrial savings account”as well as “European responses” with “less naivety” facing foreign competition “not always loyal”.
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