On the one hand, there is Auchan, which announced on Tuesday, November 5, 2,400 job cuts in the coming years, and store closures. And on the other, Michelin, flagship of French industry, which plans to close two factories in France, in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire) and Vannes (Morbihan). This time, a little more than 1,200 positions will be eliminated by the start of 2026. Two simultaneous announcements and the same concern which dominates the questions to the government.
No less than five deputies challenged the government, starting with the ecologist Charles Fournier, deputy for Indre-et-Loire. “Michelin who, this morning [mardi]announced the closure of two sites in Cholet and Vannes, 1,254 employees, General Electric in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, 360 employees. And the list goes on, deplores the elected official. As a public power, your responsibility is at stake. We need a strategic State. However, you give the feeling that there is no pilot or a pilot who abdicates.”
Then it is the communist André Chassaigne who takes the floor to talk about “black day” for French industry. He believes that the government's announcements and satisfactions are crashing against the wall of reality and to respond to each of these elected officials, it is the Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci, who takes the microphone. “We have discussed with all elected officials, also discussed with Michelin management, regarding the Cholet and Vannes sites, and in the coming hours we will put everyone around the table to talk about the recovery sites, he says. Regarding support for employees, we asked, with Minister Antoine Armand, that the commitments that have been made by Michelin management, and which will be made in the context of other issues, are extremely powerful. and ensure that no one is left behind.”
Marc Ferracci also refers in the longer term to a response at the European level since this is where international competition takes place, particularly with the Chinese automobile industry. He promises to work in the coming months on a recovery plan at European level. And then, Michel Barnier still spoke on this subject at the very end of the question session with the government. Questioned by deputies who asked him if he was proud of these job cuts, of these company decisions, the Prime Minister replied that, of course, he cannot be “iron” of this type of decision, but he assures that it is a priority of the government to preserve and rebuild the industrial fabric of France.
