The leader of the Insoumis, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, suggested to Emmanuel Macron, on Saturday, to requisition two silicon factories that the American-Spanish group Ferropem wants to close in Isère and Savoie, with 350 job cuts to the key .
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"
Me, if I were President of the Republic today, I would requisition these two factories,
" declared the candidate for the 2022 election in front of that of Clavaux, a more than a century old site located in the Romanche valley in Livet-et-Gavet (Isère). “
The demand for silicon will quadruple in the next few years. It is a strategic production for the industry and, if these factories close, our country will be 100% dependent,
”he added, calling for“
a plan
”to create a silicon industry in France.
“
With three decrees, we created this sector. Everything is there - the dams, the factory, the know-how - to produce a material of the future. It is not castanets that we make here,
”insisted Jean-Luc Mélenchon, referring in particular to the opportunities in photovoltaics. “
Macron needs to take care of this. We did not elect him to run around and play smart, as he does today in the Lot,
”he said in front of around 150 people - employees who came with the family, activists and elected officials, including the candidate. PCF / LFI to the regional in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cécile Cukierman.
In Livet-et-Gavet, a town of 1300 inhabitants, the prospect of closing the factory raises fears "
the death of the village
". "
Hands off our dads
'
factory
," read a banner on the site.
On March 30, Ferroglobe, the parent company, announced the elimination of 350 jobs in France, including 131 in Clavaux and 221 in La Léchère (Savoie), citing a "
lack of competitiveness
" of these factories doomed to be "
put in sleep
”and not closed - to avoid having to pay the cost of their depollution, according to the CGT and FO unions. Ferroglobe highlights financial losses, linked according to him to a drop in demand and the fall in prices since 2018 due to competition from Chinese silicon, but the unions denounce mismanagement, a source of debt and operational errors. A job protection plan (PSE) must be negotiated until October 7.
Yannick Jadot (EELV) and Laurent Wauquiez (LR) had already visited the workers of the group in Savoie in recent weeks. In December, before the National Assembly, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, had called Ferroglobe to “
its responsibilities
” and to “
support its French subsidiary
”, while a restructuring was looming.
