This is more bad news for the French economy. Steel giant ArcelorMittal is postponing planned investments in its Dunkirk factory in northern France. A major factory: it is the largest blast furnace in Europe with a capacity of 7 million tonnes of steel per year, it is also the most polluting factory in the country. ArcelorMittal was to invest 1.8 billion euros to decarbonize steel production. 1.8 billion, including 850 million euros of public money. ArcelorMittal is now demanding from Brussels measures to protect European steel in the face of Chinese competition before any commitment.
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The steelmaker ArcelorMittal has decided to delay its massive carbon-free steel project on its Dunkirk site, in the north of the country, the Minister Delegate for Industry said on Saturday, November 23, with the CGT for its part evoking a “black scenario “.
“ The European steel industry is currently in crisis, with demand and prices for steel reaching historic lows. This context explains ArcelorMittal’s decision to postpone its investment in the decarbonization of the Dunkirk site, which is currently not operating at full capacity. », Said the Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Marc Ferracci, in a statement sent to AFP.
According to the newspaperNew Factory who revealed the information on Saturday, “ the group is now requesting measures to protect European steel from the European Commission before making any investment of this type in Europe “.
The Dunkirk factory produces 11 million tonnes of CO2
The Dunkirk factory produces 11 million tonnes of CO2, or almost 3% of France’s annual emissions. The group therefore committed to replacing its coal-fired blast furnaces with electric furnaces.
Matthieu Jehl, the boss of ArcelorMittal France, explained the project two years ago on BFM Business:
“ The project is to replace the coal we use today with natural gas, then hydrogen, by 2026-2027. It’s complicated, but at the same time, it’s our job. And then there is the prospect of perpetuating our industrial activity. »
Unions fear the consequences in terms of jobs
A substantial investment of nearly 1.8 billion euros, but almost half provided by the French State. ArcelorMittal’s decline today therefore makes David Blaize, CGT union representative, very angry.
“ There was public aid from the French state amounting to 850 million euros, knowing that the group has made billions of euros in profits over the last three years. And today, the group would withdraw from decarbonizing its Dunkirk site. For me, I’m simply telling you how I think it, it’s just a strategy of the group to activate its development in India, Brazil and the American continent. »
The unions fear that this renunciation will ultimately sign the end of production in Dunkirk, while between direct and indirect jobs, steel supports one family in five in the region.
The worry is very strong. If the group disengages from this decarbonization project, I think it will have a big impact on employment. Today, we hear a lot about “green steel”. Tomorrow, if Dunkirk is not able to produce green steel, the question of the continuity of production in this city arises…
David Blaise, CGT representative at ArcelorMittal: “When you are Minister of Industry, you are not there to count the dead…”